Bad Romance
by DarkFaerie87
Summary: *Currently on hiatus to rewrite a few chapters before continuing* Hermione knew that their fifth year would be no walk in the park, but she never expected the young blond Slytherin to be so personally involved. What happens when it all comes to a head? Will the sharp muggle-born witch and a Death Eater's son make it out together, or is tragedy inevitable?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:  
****I do not own anything in the Harry Potter fandom, nor do I make any money from this story. No copyright infringement intended. **

Draco sauntered through the door of Malfoy Manor looking unlike his normal pristine self. His perfectly pressed khaki slacks were wrinkled, his expensive brown leather belt was unbuckled leaving his slacks to hang precariously off of his hips. His once crisp white button up Oxford was creased and unbuttoned revealing a tight white tank top that clung to his broadening chest. His hair was in disarray but he still wore his trademark Malfoy smirk. He ran a hand through his unruly hair and walked into the kitchen in hopes of finding some coffee to help relieve the pounding headache bestowed upon him from a night of fire whiskey, loud music, and women.

"Draco! Where have you been all evening?! I have been worried sick!" Narcissa jumped from her high backed mahogany chair, bumping the kitchen table, and almost upsetting her cup of tea. Her eyes were bloodshot, and tired. She was still sporting her silk bathrobe. Sitting next to her tea was a slimline cigarette holder just freshly used. "It is almost noon! You shouldn't be sporting about with all the turmoil and politics your father has to tend to!"

Draco let out a moan and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "I'm home now, Mum. I'm fine. Can we lower the volume a few decibels?" Narcissa walked over to her son and smoothed his hair out of his face. Her nose wrinkled as the pungent aroma of liquor assaulted her. "Draco, you need to get control of yourself." She gently moved his face to make eye contact. "What would your father say if he saw you like this?" Draco yanked his face from his mother's hands. "He isn't ever home so what does it bloody matter?!" He bristled. Narcissa reached out to touch his shoulder. He swept past her, grabbed his mug of coffee, and stomped off to his room.

With the Dark Lord back things in the Malfoy home had become a whirlwind of pure chaos. His father, Lucius, was now working double time at the ministry while having to answer to the Dark Lord whenever he was called upon. It seemed like the moment Lucius would cross the threshold into the house the dark mark on his forearm would burn and he would be gone just as soon as he had entered.

Draco threw his shirt onto a deep burgundy arm chair as he entered his room. He hissed at the onslaught of bright sunshine pouring into his room. He made haste in walking over to his large plate glass window and violently closed the curtains. Sighing, he flopped down on his bed and tossed an arm over his eyes. A light tapping on his door frame announced his mother's entrance. He let out a groan before opening his mouth in anticipation of a continuance of the conversation had in the kitchen. "The post has arrived. I thought I would bring it up to you." She laid a stack of envelopes on his night stand and a vial of potion to help ease his headache. She ran the back of her hand across his cheek. "It will be okay." She whispered before making her exit.

Draco sat up, put his head in his hands, and started rubbing his temples before sifting through the envelopes his mother had left. Heavy perfumes wafted from a majority of the letters sent by his not-so-secret admirers back at Hogwarts. He tossed them onto the floor. The smells made his head throb with more severity. He uncorked the small vial and choked the potion down. He could go through those letters later when he didn't feel like death. A large envelope with the Hogwarts seal caught his eye. It was much larger than normal. He dumped its contents out on the bed in front of him. A small black velvet box with an official looking letter toppled out. Draco ripped open the letter and smirked. He greedily snatched the box and flipped it open to reveal a silver and green prefect badge. "Wait until Potter gets a load of this."

Hermione opened her eyes and jumped. She had been staying at Grimmauld place for 2 weeks and still weren't used to waking up in the dark, dusty, eerie house. She wiggled out of her sleeping bag, attempting to smooth out her unruly curls. It was a lost cause. She pulled a hair tie from her wrist and put her hair up into a messy ponytail. Ginny stirred from beside her sleeping bag on the floor. "What are you doing up so early?" Ginny moaned rubbing her eyes. "Harry is supposed to arrive today. I know he is going to be furious when he gets here. He sent that last letter 2 days ago." Hermione nodded at the letter sitting on the dingy dresser across from them. "We never even sent Hedwig back to him!"

"You need to relax." Ginny yawned. She stood up stretching her arms over her head. "We'll fill him in when he gets here. Stressing about this is just going to make matters worse." Hermione nodded. She knew she was over reacting but it felt so wrong to keep so much from one of her best friends whose life was in the balance of it all. "It's bad enough having to deal with that greasy git downstairs." Ginny added screwing up her face. Hermione laughed and started going through her trunk. "Harry is going to have a coronary when he sees Snape." She said over her shoulder while she pulled out a pair of jeans. Ginny shuddered as she began changing.

"Ron totally has a thing for you." Ginny changed the subject. Hermione lost her footing as she was attempting to pull on her jeans and fell into the wall. "Where the hell did that come from?" Ginny giggled. "You haven't seen him mooning over you? Not to mention, him doing absolutely everything you say and more? I have to threaten his life just to get him to put the toilet seat down!" Hermione pulled a tank top over her head and laughed. "I think you need to be committed, Ginny. I've seen him ogle other girls. I'm not exactly 'hot' as Ron would put it." Ginny stomped over to her and drug her towards the full length mirror in the corner of the room.

"Take a look at yourself. If you can honestly say you aren't attractive or 'hot' I will not hesitate to slap you silly." Hermione did as she was told. Her face was soft with large brown eyes and deep pink pouty lips. Her body had filled out in a way that made her slightly uncomfortable. Her waist had remained slim while her chest and hips seemed to widen. "I would also like to bring notice to that spectacular bum you are sporting!" Ginny grabbed Hermione's shoulders and forced her to turn side-ways. She let out a wolf whistle. "Better be careful. Soon you'll have guys like Malfoy chasing you down!" She let out a howl of laughter as Hermione stuck her finger in her mouth and made a retching noise.

"Harry's back!" Ron swung the door open and noticed Hermione standing sideways in front of the mirror. His jaw dropped. "Don't you know how to bloody knock?!" Ginny yelled throwing a shoe at him. Ron ducked just in time then made a run for it. Ginny followed after him yelling obscenities. Hermione took one last look in the mirror and shuddered. The thought of Malfoy being within 10 feet of her was nauseating, let alone him being in any intimate situation with her.

"What the fuck is Snape doing here?!" Harry was on his way upstairs and he wasn't amused.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**  
**I do not own anything in the Harry Potter Fandom, nor do I make any money from this story.**  
**No copyright infringement intended.**

The end of the summer couldn't come fast enough. Harry had been grouchy during the rest of their stay at Grimmauld Place. He huffed and puffed around the house, snapping at everyone in his path. Even Kreacher, the Black family house elf, stayed out of his way.

Hermione tried to be understanding and not fly off the handle when Harry got himself worked up. Harry and his muggle cousin had been attacked by dementors before he arrived. Using his patronous to get away from them led to a trial on a possible expulsion from Hogwarts at the Ministry of Magic for use of magic outside of school. He was let off, and things had simmered down a bit. Their letters from Hogwarts proclaiming Hermione and Ron to be prefects sent Harry over the edge again. He had thought that he would have been named a prefect, not Ron.

"I'm heading out to the station with Tonks and a few other aurors." Harry said dryly walking into Ginny and Hermione's room.

"Stay safe." Hermione said wrapping her arms around her friend in a tight hug. "We'll see you soon."

***

Platform 9 3/4 was buzzing with students bustling about trying to get on the train and claim a compartment. Parents hugged and kissed their children wishing them a safe trip. Mrs. Weasley fussed over everyone as they made their way to the train. She kissed and hugged everyone making them promise to send owls frequently. Things had gone corrupt in the Ministry and made Mrs. Weasley go into overdrive.

"Oy Mum!" Ron yelled as his mother gave him his third hug goodbye. "We'll send you an owl when we get there!"

"Ron let's go! We need to hurry up! We need to meet-up with the other prefects!" Hermione yelled from the entrance of the train as she fixed the bobby pins in her hair in hopes of keeping her curly mane from falling in her face. Ron smiled and ran after her.

Hermione walked through the corridor dodging other students as she tried to find Harry to check in on him before changing and starting her prefect duties. Ginny had already disappeared with a friend from Ravenclaw. Hermione turned her head to make sure she hadn't lost Ron in all the chaos. She turned back to see Neville's toad hop out in front of her. "Shit!" She yelled as she began toppling forward from her abrupt stop to keep from squashing the slimy amphibian. Hermione threw her arms in front of her to help brace her impending fall.

Two strong arms caught her by the shoulders as she fell into their broad hard chest with a loud 'umph'. She pulled away leaving her hands on their chest. "I am so sorry! Are you okay?" She asked, her face going red.

"Forget to walk, didja Granger?" The deep baritone voice just above her head whispered, dripping in sarcasm.

Hermione jumped back and rubbed her hands against her jeans as if they were contaminated with a foul flesh eating bacteria. There stood Draco Malfoy, dressed to the nines in an expensive black Italian suit. He crossed his arms across his chest making his partially unbuttoned shirt strain against the rippling muscles underneath. His strong jaw was relaxed, his mouth quirked up into a smirk as his gray stormy eyes looked over her appraisingly. "Keep your hands to yourself, Malfoy." She snapped.

He laughed. "The least you could do is thank me, you filthy little mud-"

"Back off, Malfoy." Ron said dangerously, pulling Hermione behind him.

"What are you going to do about it, Weasley?" Draco said snidely. Hermione was already tugging on Ron's arm trying to get in the middle of them.

"Touch her again and you'll find out." Ron shot back shaking.

"Don't worry, Weasely. I assure you I have no plans to touch your little girlfriend again anytime soon. Although I must say, I wouldn't mind a go at her." Draco grinned and widened his stance waiting for Ron to lose it.

Hermione shoved Ron out of the way and stepped between them. She spun to face Ron. "You stop this nonsense right now! Go get changed and cool off." She put a hand on his chest and pushed him back. Ron reluctantly slumped away. Draco let out a low laugh. "And you!" Hermione snapped putting a hand on her hip and jabbing Draco in the chest with her forefinger. "Go slither back under the rock you came from!"

The train was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Students were leaning out of their compartments completely absorbed in the confrontation. Draco took a step forward and leaned down breathing into her ear. "You better watch that pretty little mouth, mudblood. It's going to get you in trouble." She shuddered and jumped back, her face growing hot. She turned on her heel and stomped away. Draco shrugged his shoulders and walked in the opposite direction looking pleased with himself. He peeked over his shoulder and watched Hermione's curvy figure disappear back into the crowd.

Pansy Parkinson grabbed Draco's arm and pulled him back into his original compartment where Crabbe and Goyle sit shoving sweets into their mouths. Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust. "What was that all about?! You were practically undressing her with your eyes!" Pansy snarled crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently.

"Just having a bit of fun. I don't see how it should matter to you?" He replied cooly. Pansy narrowed her eyes and with a grunt, turned to busy herself with other things. "That's what I thought."

As much as he hated to admit it, there was something about Granger that made his breath still when she fell into his chest and his head swim as she stood there scolding him with a hand on her hip. He shook the thoughts from his head and chalked it up to his lack of a good shag.

***

Hermione touched her ear absently as she doubled back to look for her friends. This was all wrong. Her previous irritation now became utter confusion. Her body was still buzzing from the close contact with Draco. She silently cursed her body for betraying her. She was supposed to be repulsed. All she could think about was his warm breath in her ear whispering in his low husky voice. A shiver ran down her spine.

"Over here Hermione!" She snapped out of her reverie and looked behind her to see Harry three compartments down from where she was standing. She must have walked right past him.

Ron was already dressed in his robes with his prefect badge secured over his heart. His face was still crimson and his hands lay balled up on his lap. "That disgusting fucking tosser has another thing coming." Ron mumbled under his breath.

"It's not a big deal, Ron." Hermione said nonchalantly pulling her robes over her head.

Harry laughed and tossed a chocolate frog over to Ron who sat still as a statue with his mouth agape. "Honestly, Ron." Harry said fixing his tie, "I told you it wasn't anything worth getting your knickers in a twist over."

Ron opened his mouth to protest just as Hermione grabbed his arm and hauled him up from his seat. "We're late checking in! I bet all the other house prefects are at the meeting already!" Hermione said hurrying to fasten her prefect badge in place before darting out of the compartment with Ron dragging behind her.

***

Hermione burst through the prefect compartment door and let out a groan. "So nice of you to show up, Granger." Draco said in his best sickeningly sweet voice. His gray eyes moved to find Ron a step behind her. "I see you brought Weasley as your escort. I'm sure Potter would have been a bit more practical." He paused to take a sip of water. "You do realize this is for prefects only, Granger. You'll have to leave your little guard dog at the door."

"I am a prefect you fucking wanker." Ron spat taking a step next to Hermione.

"I guess they'll let anyone be a prefect. Why else would you two be here?" Draco sneered.

Hermione pushed Ron back and sighed. "If you two want to have a go at each other can we at least wait until we're off the bloody train?" Draco shrugged tossing his ankle over his knee and stretching out his arms on the back of the seats. Ron snorted what sounded like an agreement.

The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw prefects had already occupied the seats to the left leaving only two empty seats to the right of Draco. Hermione huffed and took her seat next to him while Ron sat on her other side. Draco's arm was still perched on the back of her seat. "Do you mind?" She asked narrowing her eyes at him.

Draco raised an eyebrow and snickered. "Not really." He left his arm where it was and focused on the nervous male prefect from Ravenclaw who was attempting to start their meeting. Draco readjusted his arm and let his fingers brush over Hermione's shoulder. She immediately stiffened and shrugged his hand away. "I suggest you stop." She hissed into his ear. "It's going to be awfully difficult to wank with broken fingers."

He raised his eyebrows in shock and slid his hand back onto his lap. Ron silently chuckled beside Hermione as the meeting continued.


	3. Chapter 3

"How fucking dare she!" Draco thought to himself as he and Pansy started grouping up the first years. Hermione had completely humiliated him in front of the other prefects. He could tell they had heard Hermione's remark by the the smirks and choked back giggles filling the compartment. He was so infuriated that he was visibly shaking. His plan on pushing Ron over the edge had completely back fired. The whispers were already spreading like wildfire.

"Did you hear that Hermione Granger shut down Malfoy?"

"I heard Malfoy propositioned that Granger girl and she laughed in his face."

"I can't believe Draco Malfoy made a move on that muggle-born Hermione Granger and she threatened to break his fingers."

The staring and giggling of students he passed by, coupled with the whispers made him sick to his stomach. "She is going to fucking pay for this." He said under his breath as they finally made it to the portrait of the Slytherin dorms. Pansy gave the password and started ushering students in.

"You coming?" She asked as the last student scrambled into the portrait hole. Draco grumbled and followed her in. He tossed his robes over the back of a black leather chair situated by the fire. He loosened his tie and flopped back into it rubbing his temples.

"It looks like we have some damage control to do." Pansy said sitting on the arm of Draco's chair putting a light hand on his shoulder. "It shouldn't take much. By the time we're done with her she'll run out of the school crying for her mummy." She snickered.

Draco stood up pushing Pansy out of the way. "I just need some air." He hissed rolling up his cuffs and stalking out of the common room.

"In you go." Hermione smiled sweetly at the first years pointing towards the portrait hole.

"So, what are you going to do about the whole Malfoy situation?" Ron whispered shifting nervously in his shoes.

"Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?! By the end of the week I guarantee this whole thing will blow up!"

Hermione cocked her head to the side. "How so?"

"The rumor is already changing and it hasn't even been 3 hours since we got off the train." Ron peered around the corner searching for any stragglers as the last student climbed through the portrait hole. "Before you know it people are going to say he tried to give you a kiss and you slapped the shite out of him."

Hermione gagged. "Can we please stop talking about this?" Ron nodded and made his way into the common room with her a step behind him.

Loud cracks and pops assaulted their ears as they crossed the threshold. Blue and silver sparkles and confetti rained down from the ceiling. "All hail the Ice Queen!" Fred and George yelled over the deafening noise. The common room burst out in a roar of frantic clapping.

Hermione groaned and tried to escape to the dormitory. George grabbed her hand and yanked her onto a brown winged chair. "We heard about the Malfoy thing." George said. "Yea, heard that Malfoy tried to get cozy and you threatened to break his fingers!" Fred added laughing hysterically.

"I told you so!" Ginny yelled poking Hermione in the forehead. "Now you've got Malfoy chasing after you."

Hermione slumped over, put her face in her hands, and began rubbing her eyes. "You can't be a proper queen without a crown!" George announced roughly placing a charmed crown cut from ice on top of Hermione's head. Another loud crack made her jump as more confetti found its way into her hair.

Harry clapped Hermione on the shoulder laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. "I bet he is in a state as we speak!"

Hermione stood up and tried to brush the glitter and confetti from her skirt and robes. "I'm going on patrol. This better be cleaned up when I get back." She snapped at Fred and George, tossing her crown on the chair behind her. As funny as it was to watch Draco's jaw drop, this whole ordeal was getting out of hand. She knew Draco's passes were attempts to set Ron off, not to pursue her genuinely. She felt a small pang of disappointment thinking about how it was just a rouse. "Snap out of it!" She yelled to her subconscious.

Fred and George had knelt before her feet. "Honestly!" She scolded looking down at them. The boys stood up quickly taking a thigh in each of their hands and propping her up onto their shoulders. The common room broke out in thunderous applause again. "Put me down!" She shrieked grabbing their shoulders for balance.

Fred and George kicked the portrait door open and stepped out into the corridor, Hermione still trying to wiggle away off of their shoulders. "Long live the Ice Queen!" Her house mates bellowed as confetti and sparkles flew out into the hall with more loud cracks and booms.

Draco stormed into the corridor with his fists balled up at his sides. "I can't believe that little mudblood is making all these peasants think I came onto her! There is nothing appealing about that frizzy headed bitch." He thought furiously with his head down and his feet moving of their own accord. "You know that's not entirely true." He answered himself. If he were to be completely honest with himself it was the way she leaned her soft body into his side, her chin grazing his shoulder as she whispered in his ear that left him speechless. He shook his head in an attempt to shake the intruding thoughts from his mind.

"Long live the Ice Queen!"

Draco looked up to see the Weasely twins caring Hermione out into the hall on their shoulders. Her face was red as she struggled to get away. Confetti and sparkles littered the floor around them. Draco bristled. They were celebrating his 'demise'. Fred and George stooped down and let Hermione slide from their shoulders. She quickly smoothed down her skirt and turned to scold them.

Draco drew himself up to full height and cleared his throat loudly. Fred, George, and Hermione's heads snapped in his direction. Hermione froze, her eyes widening as Draco walked towards them at a leisurely pace, his fingers slowly unknotting his tie.

"Looks like a lovers quarrel is on the horizon." Fred chortled. "I concur." George nodded. "You need us to stay?" Hermione shook her head unable to look away from Draco as he came closer. Her heart started pounding and her knees grew week. The twins made their escape back through the door into the common room without another word.

"Celebrating are you?" Draco sneered stopping just a mere 6 inches from Hermione. She tilted her head up to meet his fiery eyes. She could feel the heat coming off his body and smell his expensive cologne. Her breath faltered as she took a step back to try and regain her composure. "Although, I guess getting any sort of attention from a superior as myself is cause for celebration." He gloated.

Hermione took a long deliberate step towards Draco, her brown eyes burning into his, their noses almost touching. His last comment brought her back to reality causing her jaw to clench. "Proud of yourself, are you?" She inquired arching an eyebrow.

Draco leaned back and laughed. Hermione beckoned him to come closer and he obliged with a mocking look in his eyes. "I'm sure your Daddy will be so proud to hear that his only son, not only touched a mudblood, but had his proposition for a shag rejected by said mudblood as well."

In one swift movement Draco spun Hermione around and pinned her wrists above her head against the cold stone wall panting. He kept her wrists pinned with one hand as he grabbed her chin with the other and yanked it up to look into her eyes. His had grown dark and menacing. He leaned in rubbing his cheek against hers, sliding his hand to the nape of her neck, brushing his lips against her ear. Her breath hitched as goose bumps broke out over her neck.

"Believe me Granger, if I wanted you you would be on your back, tangled up in my sheets begging for more as we speak." He growled into her ear as his fingers glided down to the small of her back. Hermione arched forward pushing her chest into his. Her body ached wanting to feel more of his against hers. His breath caught at the feel of her soft breasts pushing into his chest. Draco skimmed his nose along her jawline breathing in her light floral scent. Her body shuddered igniting a fire deep down in her core causing her hips to rock forward. He smirked against her throat and pushed his body flush to hers rubbing his growing erection into her stomach. She let out a little gasp and squirmed in his grasp.

He looked into her heavy lidded eyes and rubbed his nose to hers as his breath lay hot on her lips. Hermione closed her eyes and parted her lips, pining to feel his lips on hers. Draco groaned releasing her wrists and running his hand slowly down her arm, letting his fingers trace over the curvature of her breasts. Her head fell back into the wall behind her letting out a soft moan. She didn't know how much more she could take.

"Everte Statum!"

Draco soared through the air and landed on his backside at the other end of the corridor.


	4. Chapter 4

[Untitled]

"Are you okay, Hermione?" Ron ran to her side wand still in hand. Hermione had slid down onto the floor in a daze. "What has that fucking cock sucker done to you?!"

Two more sets of feet pounded towards Ron and Hermione. Ginny stooped down beside Hermione and brushed the hair out of her face. "Help me get her up Harry!" Ginny yelled as Draco got back onto his feet. Harry and Ginny gingerly lifted her up to her feet and quickly walked her towards the portrait hole.

"Flipendo!" Draco roared.

The spell hit Ron dead center in his chest sending him head over heals landing forcefully on his back in front of Hermione. Draco smirked keeping his wand pointed at Ron strolling over to his body. "That's what you get when you stick your nose in other's affairs, Weasely." He jeered bending over Ron to survey the damage.

"Expelliarmus!" Ron flicked his wrist and sent Draco's wand flying through the air sitting up quickly and sticking his wand against Draco's throat.

"Go ahead Weasely." He taunted. "The only way you would even have a sliver of a chance in beating me would be with your wand while I'm unarmed. Pathetic aren't you?"

Ron stood up and threw his wand down at his feet.

"FIGHT!" Fred and George yelled in unison. The whole of Gryffindor ran out into the hall mouths agape.

"That is enough!" Hermione wailed as she tried to step between the 2 wizards. Harry and Ginny tightened their grasp on her upper arms to hold her back.

"Don't worry, Granger. I'll go easy on him... for you." He winked and made a kissing noise at her. Ron had turned a violent shade of red and clenched his fists. Draco chuckled. "Struck a nerve, did I?"

Ron lunged pushing Draco to the floor. They rolled around fists flying with a steady stream of obscenities being exchanged. The crowd went wild screaming and booing as the boys scuffled on the floor. Hermione couldn't take it anymore. She ripped herself away from Harry and Ginny darting over to Draco and Ron. She grabbed Ron's arm trying to yank him away. "Back off Hermione!" He snapped. His hand flew out and caught her in the face. She stumbled back putting her hand over the angry red mark appearing across her cheek.

Draco shoved Ron away and jumped to his feet watching as Hermione's eyes started tearing up from the slap Ron had caught her with. Her eyes zeroed in on Ron. "I'm so sorry Hermione!" He apologized.

"You're going to be." She snarled springing towards him. The crowd gasped as Draco caught Hermione around the waist and carried her over to Harry. "Let go of me Malfoy!" She shrieked pounding his chest with her fists. "Keep her out of the way, Potter." Harry opened his mouth but no sound came out. Draco's eyes were black, his muscles tensed as he looked back at the swollen mark on Hermione's face and pushed her into Harry's arms.

He strode back to Ron. Before he could even open his mouth Draco hauled back and punched him straight in the nose with such force that a sickening crunch could be heard echoing off the walls of the corridor. Ron crumpled onto the floor, blood gushing from his nose. "So you like hitting women, do you?!" Draco knelt down and picked Ron up by the front of his shirt, violently shoving him up against the wall. The crowd continued to roar.

Hermione elbowed Harry in the ribs rushing forward to latch onto Draco's arm as it cocked back ready to strike again. She pulled with all she had in a failed attempt to get Draco away from Ron. All at once the room went silent as the crowd turned to look behind her and Draco. It wasn't until Hermione realized she couldn't move that she discovered that a spell had been cast on them, freezing them all on the spot.

"Back to your dormitories, all of you." Professor McGonagall commanded the crowd. Without a sound the crowd dispersed. McGonagall swished her wand setting Hermione, Ron, and Draco free. They spun around to face the disgruntled professor.

"The lot of you should be ashamed!" She snapped crossing her arms. "Mr Weasely, go up to Madam Pomfrey, get yourself sorted, and be in my office in a half an hour." She turned briskly to meet Draco and Hermione's eyes. "Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger... You will join Mr Weasely in my office." McGonagall pivoted on her heal and stalked away.

Hermione looked up at Draco and stepped back as she became conscious of her hands still wrapped around his muscular bicep. He let out a growl and stomped back to his common room.

Hermione looked down at her hands wringing them nervously in her lap. Draco sat to her left his hands gripping the arms of his chair so hard his knuckles were white. Ron sat to her right continuously mumbling his apologies to Hermione with blood still crusted around his nostrils. McGonagall glared over her half-moon spectacles, her hands clasped on top of her desk. Professor Snape stormed into the office swinging a paper across the back of Draco's head as he made his way to stand beside her.

"I am absolutely disgusted with the three of you! I have never seen three prefects act like such barbarians in the decades I've taught in this school." McGonagall shot at them slamming her hands down on the desk and standing up.

"I can explain." Hermione squeaked looking up from under her wild hair.

"Quiet, Miss Granger." Snape scolded. "I don't need an explanation for the distasteful performance you lot gave to practically the whole student body. Twenty points will be deducted from each house. Mr Malfoy and Mr Weasely, you will be serving detention with me every Sunday morning until I say otherwise."

"Why do I get detention?! That maniac broke my nose!" Ron burst out leaping to his feet and pointing at Draco.

Draco stood up slowly and drew himself up to full height glowering at Ron. "I don't fare well with woman-beaters. Be grateful I only broke your nose you loathe some little..."

Snape growled casting a silencing charm over Ron and Draco. "Sit down." He hissed. They fell back into their chairs visibly agitated.

McGonagall had made her way around the desk, bent down pushing Hermione's hair out of her face, and gasped as she spotted the small bruise developing on her cheekbone. "I'm not going to tolerate anymore issues between Slytherin and Griffindor. Not only will you boys have detention but you will be required to meet every Monday after tea to sort out problems between your respective houses. If you can't come up with a plan to resolve these conflicts you will both be stripped of your rank." Draco and Ron's mouths moved furiously with their hands gesturing wildly at the other.

"With all due respect," Snape interjected, his eyes throwing daggers into Ron's. McGonagall nodded for him to continue. "Unless we fancy seeing one or both in the infirmary with more broken bones, or dare I say, regurgitating slugs, I think it unwise to put those two together."

"Agreed." McGonagall replied. "Miss Granger, you will be meeting with Mr Malfoy instead to sort out these issues."

"But, Professor I..." Hermione fumbled.

"End of discussion." Snape interrupted. "There will be a room set up across the hall from your charms classroom to use for your conferences." He waved his wand to undo his silencing charm. "Let's go Mr Malfoy." He said shortly and escorted him out the door.

McGonagall pointed at the door without saying a word, anger etched across her face.

Ron turned to put a hand on Hermione's shoulder as they walked back into the corridor. She shrugged away from him. "Don't touch me." She growled stomping ahead of Ron.


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione flopped back on her bed exhausted. She had shoved her way through the crowd of housemates and their incessant questions easy enough. Even if she had stopped to talk to the masses what would she say? The events leading up to McGonagall's office were a blur. She wasn't even sure exactly how it all happened. She closed her eyes bringing back the memory of Fred and George's 'Ice Queen' party and tried to go from there.

She remembered being aggravated by the shindig, Fred and George carrying her out of the portrait hole against her will, Draco bombarding her in the hall, pinning her to the wall, holding her wrists above her head, his hands gently skimming over her arms and back, his lips brushing her ears as he whispered to her, his mouth hovering over hers, the feel of his stiff erection against her belly, then Ron...

Hermione shot upright in her bed sweating and panting. What did Ron see? How long was he there? Ginny ran to her bed side from across the room. "What's wrong? What can I do?" Ginny asked worry etched across her face.

"I need to speak to Ron!" Hermione blurted out.

"Deep breath, Try to calm down." Ginny sat on the bed next to her smiling, gently rubbing her back. "You know he really didn't mean to hit you. He was trying to push you away. He was terrified when he saw you pinned against the wall. He thought Malfoy was going to choke you to death!"

Hermione gave a sigh of relief. So Ron hadn't noticed what was really going on. For the first time in the history of her and Ron's friendship she was thankful that he was so daft at times. "That's just what I needed to hear. Thank you." She gave Ginny a hug and yawned. "I'll talk to Ron tomorrow. I'm beat."

Ginny gave her a squeeze and stood to close her bed curtains. "Night Hermione."

"Night." She replied groggily.

Hermione turned onto her side to get comfortable. Her mind raced thinking about Draco in ways she never thought she would. There was something else there that went beyond primal instinct. She kept replaying the scene of Draco attacking Ron after she was injured. She silently wondered if he was thinking about her too as she drifted to sleep.

Lying awake in the Slytherin dorms Draco wondered the same.

"Are you sure you're not still mad at me?" Ron fretted reaching across Harry to grab a pastry. The great hall was buzzing with excitement as schedules were passed out.

Hermione peered over the top of her Daily Prophet and smiled. "Of course I'm not. You were just being protective." She sat her paper down on the table to take a sip of pumpkin juice.

"What were you and ferret boy arguing about anyway?" Harry cut in looking at Hermione over his glasses. "You were so red in the face it had to be something bad for you to get that worked up."

Hermione sputtered choking on her pumpkin juice. Did Harry know? Was it just an innocent question? A set of robes brushed her back making her jump as a tall lean figure straddled the bench beside her.

"It's none of your business, Potter." Draco sneered. His leg rubbed against Hermione's as he readjusted himself on the bench. A jolt of electricity surged through her body.

"Bugger off." Ron mumbled under his breath. Hermione's leg began bouncing nervously. She really didn't want to deal with an encore of last night's match. She picked her paper back up and hid behind it trying to finish the article she had started at the beginning of breakfast. A strong firm hand grasped her leg just above the knee holding it into place. Hermione looked down to see Draco's hand and felt her face grow warm. She was thankful that the paper was still in front of her face, masking her reaction.

Draco laughed. "As much as I would love to hand you your ass again, Weasley, I have other business to attend to." Ron growled slamming his hands down on the table and huffing out of the great hall.

Draco slid his hand off of Hermione's leg and used his index finger to pull the paper down away from her face. "Can I help you with something?" Her voice faltered slightly as she tried to remind herself that the man beside her was supposed to be her arch nemesis. His eyes flashed an emotion that completely perplexed and caught her off guard.

"I just wanted to remind you that we have a meeting tonight." Draco said with false innocence. Hermione rolled her eyes and started packing up her belongings. "I'll be there." She replied hastily stealing a look up at him. He let a small smirk flicker across his lips, without another word he stood up and sauntered back to his table.

Draco leaned against the wall outside the potions classroom as two girls approached shamelessly throwing themselves at him. This was a regular occurrence. Not only was he attractive but he had the name and money to boot. Sometimes it felt almost cumbersome.

"Honestly, Ron, stop being such an asshole. You act like he's going to kill me and wear my skin like a hat."

"You don't know that! He's a Malfoy! He can't be trusted. What if he pulls something funny?!"

Hermione laughed. "I can handle myself. Relax; it's not a big deal."

Draco had already waved the girls away and chuckled to himself at the exchange happening a few feet from him. He watched Hermione bounce about laughing at Ron. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as she stuck her tongue out at him. Draco sighed watching her in all her glory, books in one hand and the other waving in the air as she spoke. He loved her laugh, how happy and carefree she was, even her 'mean face' as she tried to scold a fellow student.

A piece of parchment rapped across the back of his head. "Must you always do that?!" He snapped at Professor Snape rubbing the back of his head absently. "To your seat Mr Malfoy." Draco grumbled under his breath and made his way into the classroom.

It had been a rough first day. The amount of homework assigned was ridiculous and the new ministry appointed Defense against the Dark Arts professor, Umbridge, was horrid. Not only was she blatantly lying about Voldemort's return, she refused to teach defensive spells, and gave Harry detentions as far as the eye could see for disagreeing with her. On top of that she had her meeting with Draco.

Hermione grabbed a quick bite to eat with Ron, Harry, and Ginny before heading up to the conference room. She walked through the door confused. The room was small; the walls were a deep burgundy with crystal wall sconces, the carpet a chocolate brown, a large cream colored couch and small cedar coffee table sat in the middle. She had expected a room that resembled a CEO's office, not a parlor.

She groaned inwardly and started unpacking. She set out a quill and inkwell, some blank parchment, a few books on conflict resolution, and some of the plans she had already devised earlier that morning. The room had grown stuffy and hot. She tossed her robes over the back of the couch, pulled off her vest, and unknotted her tie. She sagged back into the couch and began flipping through one of the books when the door opened.

"Always with the books." Draco sneered. Hermione looked up, a smart remark on her tongue until she saw him. There he stood, his traditional black slacks taught around his hips, his white button up shirt still tucked in with three buttons open at the top, the shirt straining against his powerful chest and broad shoulders.

He strode over to the couch and took a seat beside her. He was so close she could feel his body heat through his clothes. "Must you sit so close?" She mumbled trying not to look at him.

"Must you be so paranoid? You make it sound like I would kill you and wear your skin as a hat." He crossed his arms behind his head and chuckled.

"What are you doing eavesdropping on my conversations?!" She shot back furiously slamming her book shut.

"Just fucking relax! Get the stick out of your ass, Granger." He stood up and walked to the other side of the room. "It's okay for that ginger bastard to smack you across the face but Merlin forbid I sit too close or breath on you." He ran a hand through his hair thoroughly agitated.

Hermione felt her heart sink. "I'm sorry. Please come sit back down." She put down her book and patted the couch cushion next to her. "I honestly didn't mean to set you off."

Draco sat down turning his body so they were face to face. He brushed her hair out of her face with one hand to look at her cheek where the bruise had initially been. Her heart started racing the moment he touched her. His nose was almost touching the corner of her mouth as he inspected the area. Hermione leaned forward and pushed her lips to his. Draco's body went rigid. She pulled back quickly ashamed of what had just happened. He had rejected her.

She looked down at her lap humiliated. She should have know better. Draco put his fingers under her chin and gently pulled her head up to look into her eyes. He moved forward and kissed her softly. His free hand cradled her neck as he deepened the kiss tracing her lips with the tip of his tongue. Hermione could feel her blood pounding in her ears. She put her hands on his hard chest melting into the kiss. She had never felt this way before. Her whole body hummed with excitement at his touch.

She was caught off guard when she realized that she had just climbed into his lap. Draco's sharp breath was confirmation that this was not expected. He wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her flush against him as he nipped at her bottom lip. Hermione moved her hands into his silky hair giving it a gentle tug. A deep groan rumbled in the back of his throat. She pulled back and looked into his smoldering eyes. They were hungry and desperate. Something deep down in her stomach clenched deliciously.

"I need you." Draco breathed in her ear his voice shaking. Her heart raced as if she had run a marathon. She wanted him. She crushed her lips to his drinking in his scent. Her hands fumbled frantically trying to undo the buttons of his shirt. In one swift movement he broke away and yanked his shirt over his head and threw it to the ground. Hermione followed suit and pressed her body to his feeling his muscles ripple as he pulled her closer. A shiver ran down her spine when she felt his hard erection straining against his pants as it rubbed her sex through her thin panties. The anger and animosity she harbored for the past four years melted away and was replaced with pure animalistic need.

Her hands trembled trying to unbuckle his belt in a frenzy. She let out a soft moan as Draco's mouth fastened to the side of her neck pushing her hands away and making quick work of his belt and fly. The need to feel him inside of her was overwhelming. He growled into the crook of her neck, his hands hiking up her skirt letting his naked throbbing member push against the soaking fabric covering her mound. His breath caught at the feel of her arousal. Hermione hooked an arm under his and dug her nails into his back as she pushed her panties aside and let him slide between her lips. A jolt of pure pleasure shot through her as she moved her hips and felt his hard shaft caress the small bundle of nerves at her cleft.

"If you don't stop I'm going to fuck you." Draco rasped in her ear digging his fingers into her thighs. Hermione moved her hands into his hair and kissed the sensitive skin under his ear. "Fuck me." She panted moving to push the head of his erection against her entrance.

He pulled her hips above himself and slammed her down sinking deeply into her soft warm center. Hermione cried out feeling her walls stretch to accommodate his girth. He grabbed her hair crushing his lips to hers his other splayed on the small of her back as he began his grueling pace. "Oh, fuck." He mumbled against her lips feeling himself peaking. Hermione kept her hands knotted in his hair moving her hips to meet his. She groaned as a trickle of heat pooled down into her abdomen.

"Oh, Draco!" She wailed as she came undone. Draco thrusted into her frantically as he found his release moaning her name, his body shaking against hers.

For that one moment, as they sat with their foreheads pressed together panting covered in a thin sheen of sweat, the world had stopped. All the fighting and hell they had put each other through faded away into the here and now.

A deep chuckle broke Hermione out of her reverie. Draco pushed her hair away from her face and quirked his lips up into his trademark smirk. "Well that happened."

A peal of laughter escaped from Hermione's throat as she laid her head against his chest feeling it rumble with laughter.


	6. Chapter 6

The Slytherin common room was almost empty as Draco entered. A few housemates were lounging on a couch in the corner too involved in their conversation to notice he was back. Crabbe and Goyle were hunched over a table near the stairs to the boys dormitories. Their brows were furrowed, concentrating so hard that Draco could practically smell the smoke pouring from their ears. Pansy sat across from them with her feet up on the table twirling her wand. She glanced over towards him and did a double take.

"You look like shit." She said looking him up and down.

Draco had not bothered fixing his hair or tucking his shirt back in after his meeting with Hermione. He ignored Pansy's comment and took his usual seat by the fire. He stared into the flames feeling utterly confused. He had many encounters in his short life but none of them left him reeling like he was now. The way she kissed him, the way she snuggled against him afterwards smiling and laughing, even his own laughter caught him by surprise. He felt alive.

A frown spread across his face as he realized it could never work. If the Dark Lord had the slightest inkling that he, the son of Lucius Malfoy, was fraternizing with a muggle-born, let alone being intimate with one, his father would pay dearly. He cursed his father for dragging himself and his mother into this war. Draco growled kicking over the coffee table and stormed up to bed.

* * *

Hermione sat up in bed yawning as she stretched her arms overhead. She had the craziest dream of a night filled with panting, sweating, and Draco. She laughed to herself, that thought was absurd. A dull ache between her legs as she stood up froze her in her tracks. It happened. It wasn't a dream or a figment of her imagination. Her and Draco had done it. She sprinted to the full length mirror at the other end of the dorm to look herself over as if there would be a huge neon sign across her chest blinking 'Draco Malfoy was here'. Nothing looked out of the ordinary.

"Morning!" Ginny called bounding over to Hermione already dressed and ready to start her day. "How did it go last night? I tried to wait up for you but I was so exhausted I couldn't even function. Did that asshole give you any trouble?"

"It was fine." Hermione smiled hoping that Ginny didn't notice the flush coming over her face. She pulled her hair up in a messy ponytail as she turned to finish getting ready. Ginny gasped grabbing her arm and yanking her back towards the mirror. "What's wrong?" Hermione asked. As she came face to face with her reflexion a dark red and purple mark on the side of her neck came into focus.

Hermione began to panic. She opened her mouth to try and explain herself when Ginny shoved her hand over Hermione's mouth. "I don't want to know." She muttered grabbing her wand and casting a healing charm over her neck to help erase the mark. She inspected her work and gave a nod of approval. "It never happened." She announced walking back downstairs to the common room.

Ginny knew it was Draco that left the mark but she would never say anything to anyone, including Hermione. They had become something like sisters over the last couple of years. As much as Ginny hated to admit it she was scared for her. Nothing good could come of this.

* * *

The morning went as well as it could. The classes were grueling and the homework seemed to never stop. Hermione reached over Fred to grab a cup of coffee. "That's your third cup today. It's only noon for Merlin's sake, woman!" He joshed. Hermione gave a sarcastic smile as she made her way back towards Harry and Ron. A high pitched giggle brought her attention to the Slytherin table. Draco was entertaining some of his female classmates leaning in to whisper in their ears and rubbing his hands over their backs.

Hermione turned back around slamming her mug on the table between Ron and Harry, grabbing her satchel, and walked as quick as possible, without drawing any attention to herself, out the door. Jealousy was not a feeling she was accustomed to. There was no real reason to be. What happened was a one time deal. There was nothing there of substance to keep them tethered to each other. She wished she really believed that.

She made her way towards Hagrid's cabin for her next class, Care of Magical Creatures. The dark abandoned cabin made matters worse. Hagrid still hadn't returned and everyday he was absent made her anxiety grow. The thought of something bad happening to him caused her to choke up. A loud bustle of students brought her back to her senses.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked.

"I'm fine. I just miss Hagrid." She hoped he wouldn't hear the deception in her voice. Like Ginny, Harry could read her face like a book. He pulled her into a one armed hug. "It WILL be okay." He lied.

They began to shuffle back towards the rest of the class when Draco appeared shoving his shoulder into Harry as if he didn't see him. "Watch where you're going, Potter!" He snarled glancing at Hermione as he strode off to meet the other Slytherins.

"What the fuck was that all about? I thought you were supposed to be sorting this."

Hermione pulled away and glared at Harry. "Yes, Malfoy and I are attempting to find a middle ground. That doesn't mean that he's going to stop acting like a pretentious prick." She spat. Harry nodded in agreement as the class began.

Although professor Grubbly-Plank wasn't Hagrid the class was still enjoyable. Watching cocky classmates get attacked by pixies made her day just a little brighter. Of course, Ron and Harry's colorful commentary made it all the better.

Hermione had finally started to unwind as she walked back into the school until the familiar smell of expensive cologne filled her senses. Draco walked along side of her keeping his eyes forward. "So now I'm a pretentious prick?" He asked out of the corner of his mouth.

"Haven't you always?"

"I thought that was remedied last night. I don't believe you had much of a problem while our 'meeting' took place."

"Never happened." She retorted quickening her pace keeping her eyes focused on her destination. Anyone who looked at them would think they just happened to be walking near each other, not carrying on a conversation. Draco lengthened his steps to match her speed.

"Keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night." His snide remark had Hermione tiptoeing the line between ignoring him and full out tearing him apart.

"You are getting dangerously close to earning yourself a slap, Malfoy." She replied grinding her teeth together.

Hermione was relieved to see Ron on tip-toe waving her over from the other side of the corridor. "Over here, Hermione!" He yelled over the crowd. She turned on her heel fast enough for her bag to 'accidentally' hit Draco in the arm as she hurried to get to Ron. She didn't bother looking back.

* * *

The week seemed as if it were crawling by, the classes were rough, the homework load was ridiculous, and Hermione's attempts to elude Draco were tiring. She had a class with him everyday, but somehow managed to duck down and lose herself in the crowd before he could track her down. Although, once Monday rolled around she would be forced to be face-to-face with him in that small stuffy room with no one else around.

Saturday was upon them and the excitement of Ron's new position as keeper on Gryffindor's quidditch team buzzed in the air. Harry had his last detention the night before but still seemed out of sorts. Harry pulled Hermione to the side away from ear shot looking pale as a ghost.

"It's hurting again." He whispered touching the scar on his forehead. "Last night I felt like I would faint it was so painful. Umbridge has to be working with Voldemort. The only time my scar hurts that bad is when he's around in some way."

"Try to relax. We'll figure this out." She replied with false confidence. Harry looked up at her with pain and fear in his eyes. "Let's get down to the quidditch pitch before Ron notices we're not there." She hooked her arm in his and led the way.

* * *

Draco and his normal gang of Slytherins were on the field shouting and chanting insults as the Gryffindor team practiced. Hermione sat off to the side, her anger slowly bubbling to the surface. She leaned against the side of the stands glaring at him. The team finished with one player being escorted to the hospital wing and Ron looking as if he was going to vomit. Just as she was about to make her move back into the castle a pair of stormy gray eyes locked on hers.

Draco waved his hand dismissing his cronies as he swaggered towards Hermione. "Enjoy the show?" He sneered stopping a foot in front of her.

"It would be nice if you could pull your head out of your ass and at least attempt to be a decent human being." She snapped.

"Where's the fun in that?" He crossed his arms flexing his muscles.

Hermione rubbed her hand over her forehead and sighed. "We'll talk about this Monday. I don't have the time to deal with this right now."

"I'm sure you have time enough for this." He smirked grabbing her around the waist and crushing his lips to hers.


	7. Chapter 7

Draco held Hermione close as his soft lips moved with hers. He moved a hand into her hair while the other secured her body to his. She sighed into his mouth as the kiss deepened. His heart skipped a beat when her arms wrapped around his neck. Nothing could compare to what he felt when he held her in his arms. The whole world could go up in flames right at that moment, and it wouldn't matter to him. He caught her bottom lip between his teeth. She giggled pulling back to give him a few small pecks on the lips before pushing him away.

"We can't be seen like this." She said attempting to smooth her hair down.

"To be continued?" He ran his fingers along her jawline.

"I'm still angry with you."

"Even better."

Hermione smiled and shook her head. "You are exhausting." She lightly pressed her lips to his and jogged off toward the castle. Draco watched her figure grow smaller and smaller as she disappeared back into the school. His heart wrenched. "Fuck my life..."

* * *

"Hermione?" Harry waved his hand in front of her face. "You there?"

Hermione shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "Yea, what do you need?" She had been lost in thought over her and Draco's situation. Saturday's encounter made her really question what their status was. Initially, it felt like just a one night stand, but as the days went on it felt like something had changed drastically. The kiss they shared on Saturday felt much more intimate. She knew that she and Draco could never have anything proper out in the open. Harry and Ron were convinced that Draco's father was a Death Eater and that was that.

"You've been in a daze all weekend with a goofy smile plastered across your face. Who is the lucky guy?" Harry inquired looking straight into her eyes.

Hermione let out a nervous laugh. "Do you honestly think I have time to do anything other than schoolwork and prefect duties?" She replied picking at the sandwich in front of her.

"I suppose not."

Ginny grabbed Hermione's arm pulling her off the bench almost knocking her drink over. "It is beautiful out today! Why don't we have a girls' lunch outside?" Before Hermione could reply Ginny started dragging her out of the great hall.

She didn't say another word until they were halfway to the quidditch pitch. "I just saw Malfoy's father."

"What the hell is Lucius doing here?!" Hermione asked her eyes growing wide.

"I don't know. I saw him coming out of Umbridge's office and he looked pissed."

Hermione sat down on the ground pulling her knees to her chest. "Do you think he knows?"

Ginny sat next to her reclining back on her hands, her face tilted up into the sunshine. "Unless something else has gone on since, you know." Ginny cocked her head to the side to look at her. Hermione buried her face in her knees refusing to make eye contact.

Ginny sat up grabbing Hermione's shoulders trying to force her head up. "What the fuck are you thinking still messing around with him?! For Merlin's sake, have you lost your mind?! He is dangerous! Snogging a Death Eater's son! You may as well paint a target on your back while you're at it!"

Hermione shrugged out of Ginny's grasp, her face ablaze as she stood over her. She opened her mouth ready to shout, then thought better of it and walked away. Tears stung her eyes as she made haste to get back to the castle. She knew there was a real possibility that Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater, but Draco was not like his father. Hell, Draco Malfoy was nothing like what other people perceived him to be.

She put her head down and kept walking. As she entered the castle she bumped into a tall dark figure standing in the middle of the hall. "I'm sorry." She quietly apologized.

A black gloved hand gently cupped her elbow. "Why Miss Granger, just the young woman I was looking for." Hermione's head snapped up coming face to face with Lucius Malfoy. He released her elbow and stepped back looking her over. "So, I've heard you and Draco are working together in an attempt to solve this little house rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin." Hermione swallowed hard and nodded.

"I personally feel it's a bit unfair to force students to do the work of their professors." He continued slowly circling Hermione. "I've spoken to a few of the more... qualified... educators in this school." He stopped in front of her hinging forward so they were eye to eye. "I'm sure you will happy to hear that you have been released from the burden of all of this." He gestured sweeping his hand out in front of them.

"Yes, thank you." Hermione squeaked taking a small step back.

"Very good then." He stood to full height adjusting his robes. "You have a nice day, Miss Granger." He tipped his head and walked away.

Hermione dashed to the nearest bathroom and vomited.

* * *

Draco didn't understand why Snape needed to see him in his office so suddenly. Draco had just walked into his Charms class when Professor Flitwick called him to his desk and handed him a small piece of parchment sent from Snape. He wracked his brain all the way down to the dungeon trying to figure out what it could be about.

He opened the heavy door and was met by his father sitting at Snape's desk. "Ah, Draco. How are you doing this fine day?" Lucius smiled running his fingers over the silver serpent head of his cane.

"Where's the professor?"

"He was gracious enough to let me borrow his office for our private conversation."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "Okay, so what is this all about?" He stood behind a chair resting his forearms on its back.

"Umbridge was kind enough to notify me of the situation with a certain muggle-born?"

Draco froze for a moment. "What about?" He asked hoping his voice hadn't faltered.

"The forced conferences, it is beyond disgusting for them to make you confer with a mud-blood." Draco clenched his jaw.

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "There is something you're not telling me, Draco. Is there something I should know about the filthy little..."

"Granger." Draco cut in staring disobediently at his father.

"Very interesting..." Lucius stood up slowly making his way towards Draco. "Speaking of 'Miss Granger', I just had a lovely little run-in with her." Draco stood up straight, his hands curled up into balls by his side. Lucius looked down at his fists and laughed. "No harm done, just gave her the message that your meetings are cancelled, indefinitely."

Draco tried to regain his composure. He was already making the situation suspicious enough. "Good." He answered.

"Then that is all." Lucius walked by Draco to the door. "Oh, and Draco." He stopped and turned to look at his son. "Do not disappoint me." He threatened.

* * *

Hermione was nothing short of heart-broken after what Lucius had said sunk in. She and Draco would never have a chance to be alone again without fear of being caught. Her lips tingled as she thought of their last kiss. Maybe that was the last kiss they would ever share. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. Staying in Gryffindor tower wasn't going to do her any good. Harry was in an awful mood from getting slapped with more detentions, Ron was sulking about from another lousy practice, and Ginny was sitting off in the corner with a guy she fancied.

"I'm going on patrol, Ron." She called over her shoulder moving towards the door. Ron gave a little wave. "You have fun with that."

Not many people were out and about at that time of night. She just needed some space to breath and think. She still felt nauseous thinking about her encounter with Lucius. The way he had circled her made her uneasy, like he was sizing up his prey before attacking.

She made her way up to the astronomy tower. It was one of her favorite places in Hogwarts. The view was beautiful and it was always so serene. No one bothered to come up there after classes were done. She leaned over the edge looking out at the stars.

"What are you doing up here?" Draco gently closed the door behind him.

"I should ask you the same." Hermione replied dryly keeping her back to him.

"I heard you had a run-in with my father."

"Yea, charming man." She replied sarcastically.

Draco stood next to her looking out at the sky and put his arm around her waist. She snuggled into his side laying her head on his shoulder. "Why are we doing this?" She whispered.

"What do you mean?"

She turned to look him in the eyes. "What is the point? We had our fun. Isn't that what this is all about?"

Draco stepped back looking as if she had just smacked him across the face. "Is that what you think?" He asked coldly releasing her and turning away.

She cupped his face in her hands and turned him back towards her. "What I think and what I believe are two entirely different things."

He threw his arms around her, hugging her close to his body. "I'm scared." He whispered into her hair.

She pulled back and brushed her lips to his. "Me too." She breathed.

Draco's lips fell on hers hungrily. He was intense and raw as he rubbed his tongue against hers. He frantically fumbled with the bottom of her shirt. Hermione pulled away breathless. "We're going to get caught."

He pulled her shirt over her head tossing it behind him. "I don't care." He lifted her onto the ledge, tracing her jaw with his nose breathing in her distinct floral scent. Her smell alone made his pants tight and uncomfortable. Hermione grazed her teeth along his ear. "This needs to go." She purred grabbing the front of his shirt.

He made quick work of it and tangled his hands into her hair pulling back to expose her throat. Her skin grew hot as he began to trail feather light kisses from her jaw to her collarbone. Her breath hitched as he pulled a cup of her bra down revealing a soft breast and peaked nipple. She knew that if anyone looked from the ground up at the tower they would be easily seen. She opened her mouth to protest as he took her nipple in his mouth and gently sucked. She threw her head back and moaned forgetting what she was about to say. A jolt of pleasure surged down from her breast to her core. He flicked his tongue over her nipple while his hand massaged her other breast.

She shoved him away sliding down off of the ledge and sinking to her knees at his feet. Draco gasped as she undid his pants pulling out his throbbing erection looking up and gently sucking the head into her mouth. "Fuck." He growled closing his eyes and leaning his head back. Hermione smiled as she ran her tongue up his shaft and began to take his length into her mouth. Her ex, Viktor, would have to beg her to do this for him. When it came to Draco all her senses were lost and all she could think about was her desperate need for him.

Draco pulled back joining her on the cold hard stone floor. She threw her arms around his neck pushing herself flush against him. The aching between her thighs was staggering. His mouth locked onto hers as he slid his hands up her skirt and underneath her panties. Hermione moaned into his mouth while he sank two fingers into her core his thumb slowly circling the small pink bud between her lips. She could feel something deep down in her belly coil tighter and tighter like a spring ready to burst forth.

"Please." She begged against his lips. Draco removed his fingers and tenderly laid her back on the floor. He hinged forward between her legs brushing a piece of hair from her face. Their eyes met, a strange electricity buzzed between them. Hermione rubbed his cheek with the back of her hand before setting it on the side of his face. "Kiss me." She whispered.

He gave her a sweet peck on the lips, leaned away, and smirked. She giggled grabbing his shoulders forcing his body on top of hers, kissing him deeply. Her breath hitched as he slowly slid himself into her. His lips never left hers as he began to slowly thrust into her. She wrapped her legs around his hips meeting him thrust for thrust. She could hear her blood pulsing in her ears. Her nails dug into his back. "Don't stop, Draco." She moaned her release into his mouth. Her walls clenched around him pushing him over the edge. "Fuck, Hermione." He growled. He gave one last thrust collapsing on top of her.

He laid his head on her soft chest panting. She kissed the top of his head playing with his sweat dampened hair. "Hermione?" He mumbled into her chest. "Hmmmm." She answered still lost in her post-coital fog.

"Hermione, I..."

Footsteps outside the door cut him off. They grabbed their clothes scampering to the other side of the tower hiding in the shadows. Snape swung the door open, his eyes did a long sweep of the tower. He walked to the other side. Just as he was about to turn to look farther into the shadows Filch screamed "Students out of bed!" Snape groaned and made haste out the door slamming it behind him.

When the sound of his footsteps disappeared Hermione and Draco stumbled to their feet quickly pulling their shirts over their heads. "You are going to get me in trouble one of these days, Granger." He smirked kissing her nose. "Let's get out of here." Hermione blushed straightening her skirt. A boyish grin flashed across Draco's face as grabbed her hand making their way out of the tower. Their stifled laughs echoed through the stairwell as they made their escape.


	8. Chapter 8

The next couple of weeks were full of insanity. Ron's brother, Percy, who was working for the ministry, had written him a long abrasive letter asking him to cut ties with Harry. Percy went on talking about how Harry was a complete nutter for spreading 'lies' that Voldemort had returned. Sirius made a very unexpected appearance in the common room hearth late one evening to talk to Harry about his scar and give some info on Hagrid, although it wasn't much. Umbridge had been bestowed the title of 'High Inquisitor' making her sit in on other classes to evaluate the professors and report back to the ministry.

Ron and Harry were on edge, as was expected. Hermione still refused to speak to Ginny after the outburst by the quidditch pitch about Draco. She knew Ginny was just trying to protect her, and that, for all intents and purposes, she was right about the figurative target on her back. When Lucius had walked around her it almost felt as if he was looking for just that. That didn't deter the late night rendezvous she and Draco had up in the astronomy tower.

Hermione felt daft as she tried to figure out what Draco was going to say before Snape had so rudely interrupted them that night. The whole meeting in general left Hermione reeling. Draco had been so playful and gentle with her. It was nothing like the frenzy of arms, mouths, and animalistic need that happened the first time. The thought of his head on her chest panting, totally spent, gave her butterflies. She smiled thinking about how he grabbed her hand choking back a laugh as they clumsily made their descent down the spiral staircase. That was the first time she had ever seen him give a true smile or heard him let out a light-hearted laugh.

They always found ways to sneak into the shadows to snog after that. Every time she ached for more. Draco still had a nasty habit of pushing Ron and Harry's buttons every chance he got. No matter how many times she scolded him, he always managed to reduce her to a puddle of hormones at his feet.

Hermione laid on the red and gold threadbare rug in front of the fire of the common room. Everyone else was up in their beds leaving the room silent with the exception of the crackling fire. She propped herself up on her elbows, engrossed in a book on magical fungi when a small cough caught her attention. Ginny sat down next to Hermione crossing her legs in front of her. "I'm really sorry." She whispered.

Hermione sat up and put her book down beside her. "About the whole Draco thing?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow at her. "Since when did you start calling Malfoy by his first name?"

"Are we going to go through this again?" Hermione sighed.

"Sorry it just caught me off guard."

"You were right, you know?" Hermione mumbled. "About the whole target thing. I literally ran into Lucius on my way back in the castle after our talk."

Ginny gasped scooting closer, encouraging her to go on. Hermione retold the tale of her face to face encounter with Lucius. Ginny looked horrified by then end.

"Does Malfoy know that happened?"

"Yea, he knew before I even told him. He still feels like an ass for what happened."

Hermione could see the wheels in Ginny's head turning as she realized that she and Draco were still seeing each other. Not wanting to have to explain anything to her, Hermione changed the subject. "So, Ron has been ranting about all the guys chasing you around lately. Once a day he bitches about it telling me he is going to 'kick someone's ass' for even looking at you." Ginny let out a loud laugh as she enthusiastically shared everything Hermione had missed since their fight. Hermione really missed all the girl talk with Ginny. She knew that eventually Ginny would ask about Draco again. Until then she just sat back laughing so hard her sides hurt enjoying the much needed girl time.

* * *

The energy flowing through the common room the next morning was full of excitement over the impending Hogsmeade trip in a couple of hours. Harry, Ron, Hermione, the Weasley twins, and Ginny huddled in a corner away from the commotion.

"I don't understand who would want to learn defense against the dark arts from me, with the exception of you guys." Harry whispered.

"Because you're Harry-motherfucking-Potter!" Fred exclaimed quietly.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Harry. "You have faced Voldemort how many times, and here you are. Obviously you are doing something right." Harry shrugged.

"So have you set up a meeting place?" Ron asked Hermione.

"Yes, the Hogs Head." The group leaned away looking at her as if she had multiple heads. "I know it's a bit dodgy, but it isn't out of bounds and it won't be crowded so we can keep a low profile."

"If you're sure." Ginny said putting her hand on Hermione's shoulder. "I am." Hermione smiled. "I'm going to do one quick sweep out in the corridor to make sure everyone's here."

Ginny gave her a knowing look. "Don't take too long." Hermione ignored her and made her way out of the portrait hole.

* * *

Hermione was rounding a corner of the hall when two long well-built arms wrapped around her waist pulling her into the darkness slamming her up against the cold stone wall with her wrists above her head. "You know what happens when you make me wait." Draco growled in her ear his teeth lightly grazing her earlobe. His deep baritone voice sent vibrations through her whole body making her shiver.

"Oh yea?" She smiled coyly wetting her lips.

A dark smile flashed across his face. In one smooth motion Draco hoisted her up onto his hips pinning her to the wall with his pelvis, cradling her backside with his strong hands. His pants had already grown tight against his growing erection. He rubbed it against her feeling her hips push back to his, a soft moan escaping her mouth. His mouth locked onto hers letting his tongue trace the inside of her lips. She knotted her hands in his hair opening her mouth roughly stroking his tongue with hers. His breath hitched, never had a woman had this much pull on him. Just the sight of her made his heart pound relentlessly in his chest as if it was trying to escape.

He pulled his lips from hers trailing soft kisses up her jaw to the sensitive bit of flesh under her ear. "I'm going to drill you into this wall if we don't stop." He husked in her ear. Hermione knew he was right. She pouted as he let her slide back down to the floor. He cupped her face giving her a soft lingering kiss just as the sound of students bustling into the corridor caught their attention. "Shit." Hermione mumbled.

"Go out there. I'll double back and be out in no time." He turned and quickly made his way in the other direction.

"There you are! We've been waiting for you! C'mon, we need to hurry up and get in line!" Ron said hooking arms with Hermione and dragging her along side of him.

Draco appeared two halls down. He shoved his way between them. "Watch where you're going, Granger!" He snapped. "Go fuck yourself, Malfoy." She retorted. She grabbed Ron's arm pulling him forward. She looked back just in time to see Draco wink at her. They still kept up their appearances to other students. It would look suspicious if they never fought or yelled obscenities at each other.

"What a right bastard he is." Ron grumbled as they made their way over to the rest of their group. Hermione rolled her eyes. "He's Malfoy. What do you expect?" Ron cut his eyes at her and followed the rest of the group out of the castle.

* * *

The Hogs Head trip had been a complete success. Hermione had originally planned on just a handful of students showing up, but was pleasantly surprised to see twenty or more of their peers file into the old dirty bar. Harry's initial fears seemed to trickle away as he realized how important it was to push on with the defense against the dark arts 'club'. Whenever the ministry decided to make their move they would be one of the only ones able to stand their ground and fight back.

Their optimism was short lived the next morning. A flyer hung on the common room announcement board declaring that all clubs and quidditch teams now had to be approved by Umbridge.

"Do you think she saw us?!" Ron stuttered.

"No." Hermione said confidently. "I did a sweep of the place before we started the meeting."

Harry flanked Hermione's side. "Are you sure Malfoy didn't get wind of us?"

"Positive." They both looked at her questioningly. "I'm not that daft to overlook him." She replied quickly grabbing her satchel and heading towards the portrait hole.

* * *

Hermione was fuming as she did her rounds that evening. Draco had crossed the line. In the midst of his boasting about Slytherin immediately getting the green light to continue with quidditch to Harry and Ron, he had mentioned something about St Mungo's that set Neville off. Although, she didn't catch what exactly it was about, it was enough to cause Neville to launch himself, fists flying, at Draco and his goons.

"Relax." Ron said trying to keep up with Hermione. For the first time in weeks Ron decided to go on patrol with her.

"I'm fine." She murmured.

"Well, I'm going to head down to the kitchen. I'm starving." He grumbled.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "When are you not?" Ron shrugged and made his way down the stairs.

"Hey Granger. What are you doing down here?" Draco smirked striding over to Hermione.

She narrowed her eyes and attempted to walk past him. "Where is Weasely?" He asked catching her elbow as she tried to push past him.

"I'm really put off with you right now, Malfoy."

"For what exactly?" He urged her to look at him.

"Whatever you said to set off Neville was uncalled for. Pissing off Ron and Harry is one thing, but bringing someone like Neville into this is disgusting."

Draco stood back, his brow furrowed. "First of all, I never said a thing to 'purposely' get Longbottom in a state." Hermione crossed her arms. "Are you sure?"

He raked his hand through his hair. "When have I ever lied to you?" She scoffed. "Okay okay. When have I lied to you since we have been, you know." He nodded his head.

Hermione sighed. "If you are lying to me Draco so help me..." He put his finger over her lips.

"Now are you going to tell me why Longbottom is of such interest? I wasn't aware that I wasn't the only one you were getting frisky with." He moved his finger away crossing his arms.

Hermione put her hands on her hips. "No Neville and I are just friends. What would it matter anyway? We're not an item." Her face was red as she jabbed a finger into his chest. "Furthermore, I am not a common bint! I don't just go around shagging people for shits and giggles like you."

"Really? So that's what you think of this?" Draco went rigid his eyes burning into hers. He reached into his pocket pulling out a small black satin box and tossed it at her. She caught it looking up at him suspiciously. "Go on then." He urged still looking peevish.

Hermione's hands shook as she slowly flipped open the little box. Nestled into the soft black padding inside was a dainty platinum rope necklace. "Draco, it is beautiful." She breathed. She gingerly pulled out the necklace and put the box in her robes.

Draco stepped forward pulling off his silver serpent ring. The emerald in the center gleamed as the light from the dusty windows touched it. He unclasped the necklace sliding the ring onto it. "Turn around." He smiled pulling her long brown hair off of her neck to fasten it. She turned back to face him completely speechless.

"I know that right now we can't have anything proper, but I hoped this would suffice for the time being."

She threw her arms around his neck hugging him close. He tilted her chin up looking into her dark brown eyes. The feeling she gave him was beyond compare. There was no doubt in his mind that what they had was as natural as breathing. He softly pushed his lips to hers. They held each other close locked in a long passionate kiss. Both of them were so lost in the moment that they didn't even notice Ron standing atop the stairs with his mouth agape.


	9. Chapter 9

The bile rose in Ron's throat as he caught sight of Hermione tangled in Draco's embrace kissing him passionately. The girl he had loved for the better part of four years was in the arms of his sworn enemy. Over the summer he had tried to kiss Hermione once, just for her to push him away saying she didn't want to ruin their friendship. Yet, here she was, snogging a guy who had given her nothing but hell from the moment they met. His face grew hot and his blood pounded in his ears.

"What the fuck is going on here?!" Ron stomped over to them.

Hermione jumped her eyes growing as big as dinner plates. Draco ran his fingers through his hair, an arrogant smirk spread across his face as he kept an arm around her waist. "I don't think this is any of your business, Weasley." Hermione took a step in front of Draco wringing her hands nervously.

"Ron, go cool down and we'll talk about this later."

"To fuck we will!" Ron bellowed stepping closer. "So you can't give your best friend a shot, but you can give this arrogant fucking prick one?!"

Hermione grabbed Draco's arm as tried to push past her. "I can handle this. Just go, Draco, please."

"Draco?! Now you're calling this son of a fucking bitch Draco?! Are you fucking him too?!"

"That is none of your fucking business." Draco snarled.

Hermione blushed.

Ron looked from her to Draco and back. "So you are going to let Malfoy treat you like some common Knockturn Alley whore?!"

Draco shoved Hermione out of the way pinning Ron to the wall with his wand jabbed into his throat. "Don't you fucking dare." Draco whispered dangerously. "The only reason I haven't ripped out your throat and shoved it up your ass is because of Hermione." He lowered his wand his eyes throwing daggers into Ron's.

"So I'm to sit around and let you use her until you leave for something 'better'?" Ron looked up at him defiantly.

Draco raised his eyebrows crossing his arms. "Who said I had any intention of leaving?"

Ron's mouth hung open in disbelief, even Hermione was caught off guard by his last statement. "If you truly care about her safety you won't mention this to anyone until we say otherwise." Draco said nodding in Hermione's direction. Ron nodded with his mouth still agape. He turned back to Hermione cupping her face and giving her one last soft kiss before he made his way back to Slytherin Tower.

"Why?" Ron asked quietly as they made their way back towards Gryffindor Tower. Hermione shrugged. "It just happened."

"Why couldn't it be me?"

"Ronald, I wasn't looking or planning on being with anyone." She put her hand on his shoulder to stop him.

He pushed her hand away. "Have you gone completely mad? Have you forgotten who his father is? What are you going to do when his pure-blood Death Eater parents find out that he's messing around with a mudblood like you?"

Hermione hauled back and punched him square in the face. He stumbled into the wall his nose bleeding and eye already starting to puff up from the blow. Harry and Ginny had just come out of the portrait hole to see the fight. "What the fuck just happened?!" Harry said running towards them with Ginny trailing behind.

Hermione shook out her throbbing hand cutting her eyes at Ron. "Go on, Ron, tell them about how I'm a mudblood whore." She seethed.

Ron wiped his bloody nose on the back of his hand furious. "Well why don't you tell them about your fucking Death Eater boyfriend!" He shot back.

"Ron, come off of it!" Harry yelled. "I'm tired of hearing you go on about Malfoy and your paranoia that something is going on with Hermione."

"You weren't the one that caught her and Malfoy practically dry humping each other in the fucking hall!" Ron spat.

Ginny threw her hand over Ron's mouth. "This isn't the place or time to talk about this." She hissed. Harry froze his eyes locking on to Hermione's. She opened her mouth but no words came out. What could she say?

"Ginny is right. We'll talk about this tonight when we can all be alone. This can't get around." Harry turned on his heel and crawled back through the portrait hole. Ron stomped behind him refusing to look at Hermione. Ginny grabbed her hand giving it a squeeze. "Everything will be okay." She whispered.

* * *

The common room had become uncomfortably quiet as the last of the Gryffindors ascended the staircase to their beds. Hermione was curled up in the corner of one of the love seats with her nose buried in a book. Although, she was using it more for camouflage than actual reading material. Ron sat at the other end looking into the fire mumbling under his breath. Harry plopped down next to her and pulled the book away from her face. His eyes were kind and gentle.

"Hermione, you know that him and his family are dangerous."

"That's what I've been telling her from the start." Ginny chimed in dragging a chair over.

Harry and Ron's heads snapped up to look at her. "You knew?!" Ron barked.

Ginny's face turned red. "In my defense, I didn't think anything would amount from it." Ron scowled at her.

Hermione pulled her knees up to her chest, pulling her new necklace out of her shirt, and absently played with the ring on it. Ginny reached over taking the ring from her fingers. "This is Malfoy's ring." She gasped. Harry's eyes popped open in shock. Ron crossed his arms. "What does that have to fucking do with anything?" He growled.

Ginny threw a piece of parchment at his head. "Are you really that dense? This isn't a fling." Ron cocked his head to the side.

Harry sighed. "Honestly Ron, even I know what that means."

"Will someone just spit it the fuck out?" Ron said agitated.

"We're serious. I think I love him." Hermione whispered.

Ron shot off of the love seat ready to have a screaming fit. Ginny flicked her wand silencing him. She smiled at Harry and began to drag Ron towards his dormitory. "I'll be upstairs if you need me." She said softly to Hermione. Once Ron and Ginny had disappeared Harry turned back to Hermione grabbing both of her hands and looking her in the eyes.

"You do understand that being a muggle-born getting cozy with a Death Eater's son is not in your best interest right?"

"He's not going to hurt me, Harry" she pulled her hands from him standing up. "If he was going to he would have already done it. You're not my father."

Harry stood up wrapping his arms tightly around her. "I'm not your father, but I do love you. You are the sister I never had. I'm going to worry about you constantly whether you like it or not. Just remind Malfoy that I've taken on the most powerful dark wizard of our time 4 times and lived to tell the tale. It would be a walk in the park to take him out."

Hermione pulled away laughing. "Thanks Harry."

He kissed the top of Hermione's head and gave her one last squeeze. "I need to go deal with Ron before Ginny kills him. You two need to be more careful. If the wrong people find out..." He trailed off his eyes looking down at the floor. "Night Hermione."

"Night." She whispered heading towards the girls dormitory.


	10. Chapter 10

The week had gone along without a hitch. Hermione didn't have to sneak around nearly as much since her best friends new about Draco. It didn't stop Ron from mumbling obscenities under his breath whenever Hermione went out on patrols, but he did apologize and was making an honest effort to make it up to her. Harry had gotten a bit more protective whenever Draco was around. Harry had never said a word to him about the compromising position Hermione and he had been found in, but it was silently understood between the two. Ginny had abandoned her initial fretting over their relationship and returned to her nosy happy self.

Hermione poured over her daily prophet scoffing every few minutes. "The nerve..." She grumbled.

Ron sat down across from her shaking as if he had seen a ghost. She peered over her paper worried. "Are you okay?"

"He's just a bit nervous." Harry replied reaching over Hermione to grab a pitcher of pumpkin juice. He poured himself a glass. "Want some?" He asked raising the pitcher. She nodded and smiled as he poured her one.

"Maybe if you eat something it will help you feel a little better, Ron." She said pushing a plate of toast at him. He grabbed a piece and nervously nibbled it. "First game of the season and I'm still rubbish." Ron whined.

Harry rolled his eyes. "We've never lost to Slytherin before, and we won't today either." Harry said.

Hermione nodded in agreement. She was looking forward to the match, although this time she had to watch her best friend go head-to-head with her proverbial Slytherin seeker boyfriend. She chuckled to herself, never had she imagined this would happen. She held up her pumpkin juice, "To Griffindor!" She yelled. "No snake has a chance against a lion!"

Fred and George let out a loud howl holding up their glasses. Everyone else began to follow suit. Hermione glanced over her shoulder to the Slytherin table to see Draco shaking his head mouthing "Not a chance," to her. She turned back taking a sip of juice. She immediately spat it out screwing her face up.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked rubbing her back.

Hermione wiped her mouth with a napkin and shuddered from the taste. "That is horrid. It must have expired or someone spiked it."

"I poured it from the same pitcher as mine. Give it here." Harry took the glass from her and took a sip. "Tastes fine to me." He shrugged setting it back on the table. "C'mon Ron. Let's head down to the pitch and start getting ready."

Ron stood up on wobbly legs, his face had turned a sick green color, and a thin sheen of sweat lay over his forehead. "You'll do great." Hermione smiled squeezing his arm as he passed.

"I'm going to head back to the tower to grab my scarf." She said to Ginny standing up. Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Sure you are." Hermione laughed swatting her with her Daily Prophet. "I'll meet you down at the pitch." Hermione called over her shoulder.

The walk up to Gryffindor tower felt like it took forever. All the while she tried not to gag from the awful after taste of the pumpkin juice. She quickly darted to the bathroom as soon as she scuttled through the portrait hole and dry heaved into the toilet. After a few minutes of retching she was able to compose herself and scrub her teeth until the taste was gone.

Draco had been waiting for five minutes around the corner from Gryffindor tower. He had already changed into his quidditch robes with his broom propped up on the wall next to him. Hermione ran down the hall trying to secure a red and gold ribbon around her ponytail when she saw him.

"I was starting to get worried." He said pecking her on the lips. "Sorry about that. I think I had some bad pumpkin juice."

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked brushing the back of his hand against her cheek.

"Yes, I'm fine." She smiled still fumbling with the ribbon. "Turn around I'll get it." Draco laughed swishing his wand tying the ribbon to her ponytail. He pulled her back up against his chest, and placed a soft kiss just under her ear.

"I really do need to head down there before people come looking for me." He whispered in her ear making no move to release her. Hermione sighed. "I guess." She pouted.

He spun her around to face him gently pushing his lips to hers. Hermione felt herself go slack against his hard body deepening the kiss. Draco pulled away breathless, a smirk playing across his lips. "Good luck." She gave him one last soft peck breaking their embrace. "You're going to need it." She teased walking away.

He arched an eyebrow and chuckled.

* * *

The stands were packed by the time Hermione made it down to the quidditch pitch. A sea of gold and red sat to one end while a chanting group of green and silver sat on the other. A short red-haired girl leapt up and down frantically waving from the center of the Gryffindor stands. She was relieved to see Ginny and Luna had saved her a seat, even though she already knew they would.

Hermione squeezed through the crowd of screaming spectators and took her seat between them. "Ron looks like he's going to hurl." Ginny yelled into her ear over the roar of fans as the quidditch players took the field. He was trembling worse than he had been earlier that morning. He kicked off hovering in front of the Gryffindor rings his eyes darting around looking at the stands. Harry and Draco had taken their places glaring at each other as Madam Hooch made her way to center field. Ginny looked over at Hermione and laughed. "You're guy knows he doesn't stand a chance, right?" Hermione stuck her tongue out and turned her attention back to the pitch.

"That is so diplomatic of you, Hermione." Luna said absently. Hermione cocked her head to the side confused. "Your bow. It's lovely."

Hermione snatched the bow out of her hair and stared at it irritated. Draco had changed the colors of her ribbon to green and silver while he was helping her tie it. Ginny gave her a questioning look. "Malfoy." Hermione mouthed. Ginny shook her head giggling. Madam Hooch sounded the whistle.

Blurs of red, gold, green, and silver darted around the air. Ron hovered lamely in front of the hoops. A large chaser from Slytherin raced towards him with an awful grin on his face. Ron threw his hands up just to have the quaffle zoom between them and right into the center hoop. Ginny cringed putting her face in her hands. "C'mon Ron!" Hermione yelled.

Ron had lost whatever little nerve he had left letting two more goals through. The Slytherins cheered Ron on laughing at his misses. The Gryffindors groaned in unison as another quaffle made it through the left hoop. "Harry's found it!" Ginny screamed shaking Hermione's arm. The whole of Gryffindor stood roaring.

Draco was hot on Harry's tail as they dove towards the little gold ball hovering a few feet off of the ground. They were neck and neck. Both had an arm stretched out ready to snatch it out of the air. "GO HARRY!" Ginny and Hermione yelled. Just because Hermione was dating the Slytherin seeker didn't mean her house loyalties lay with him.

Harry pulled up quickly, his fist in the air holding the snitch. The Gryffindors stomped their feet causing the stands to shake as if an earthquake had hit the grounds. Ginny and Hermione jumped up and down hugging and yelling out. They quickly pushed through the crowd to get onto the pitch to congratulate their friends.

* * *

Harry grabbed Ron's arm and drug him towards the rest of their team. "I almost cost us the game." Ron whined trying to pull away.

"Stop being a baby. We won! You did fantastic for your first game." Harry lied.

Ron groaned as his brothers, Fred and George, pulled him into the line of celebrating Gryffindors. They shook him violently cheering. Ron couldn't help but yell out with them. They had won regardless of his blunders. He loosened up getting ready to shake hands with the lot of disgruntled Slytherins in front of him.

Draco was furious. Losing to Gryffindor was bad enough without watching Ron laugh at their defeat. Something about his smug expression and Hermione's cheers for him had him on edge. He knew that logically she was going to cheer for her house and it had nothing to do with Ron. It still didn't stop him from getting irritated.

Ron reached out to grab Draco's hand still laughing. "Think you won, do you?" He seethed.

"Uh yea, jealous?" Ron snarked.

Draco pulled Ron closer so that they were nose to nose. "Why would I be? I've got money, good looks, and the witch of your dreams." He sneered.

Ron's face turned a violent shade of red as he yanked his hand from Draco's. Draco knew Ron still had a thing for Hermione, and watching him work himself into a rage over her being with him was very amusing.

"Go fuck yourself, Malfoy."

Draco raised his eyebrows smirking "I don't have to."

Ron lunged towards Draco. Harry and Fred held him back confused. "What the fuck is your problem?" Harry snapped at Ron. The team captain, Angelina, grabbed Ron's arm and yanked him back. "Go cool down, now!" She ordered. Ron reluctantly turned and made his way back towards the locker room mumbling under his breath.

Hermione and Ginny ran up to the team just as Ron slumped off. "What the hell was that all about?" Ginny asked George. "Dunno." He shrugged.

Draco turned to walk away just as Crabbe, one of his goons, shouted, "That's right! Go run back to your fat old ugly mum, Weasley!" Draco let out an exasperated sigh and made his way back over to Crabbe. Harry grabbed ahold of Fred while Angelina and another chaser latched onto George to keep them from charging. "Just walk away." Hermione pleaded with them.

"I bet it smells like old dragon ass in their house." Goyle, the other goon, guffawed. "That's why Potter likes it there so much. The stench reminds him of his filthy mum."

Draco had just squeezed between Crabbe and Goyle as Harry landed a solid punch to the side of Draco's face by mistake. Harry and Fred fell onto the three of them with fists flying. Madam Hooch yelled out jinxing everyone into place. Draco sat on the ground with a bloodied lip while Harry and Fred were frozen in mid punch. "To your head of houses now! The lot of you!" She shrieked.

* * *

Harry and Fred trudged into the common room fuming. Harry threw his cloak into an armchair and kicked the wall. "I got a fucking life-long ban from quidditch for punching Malfoy in the face." Hermione gasped jumping out of her chair and running over to him.

"You have to be joking! McGonagal would never do something like that!" She said putting a hand on his back.

"Apparently, Umbridge can now discipline every student as she sees fit, regardless of their house. Hence the ban." Harry said his body quivering from pure anger.

"Both of us." Fred growled. "Oh yea, hey George!" He yelled.

"Yea?"

"You're banned too."

"I didn't even fucking hit anybody!" George barked.

"Apparently if one twin is 'violent' so is the other." Fred snarled flopping down on the couch nearest the fire. George grumbled sitting beside him. "If I'd known that I would have bloodied his face before the game and made this worth it."

"To be fair, Dra... Malfoy wasn't the one spouting off at the mouth." Hermione said making her way back to her seat.

Ron jumped up angry. "You didn't hear what that bastard said about you!" Ginny grabbed him by his hair. "Talk about it later, you fucking idiot." She hissed in his ear.

The rest of the common room looked up at Ron expectantly, waiting for him to spill the beans. Ginny let go of his hair and cleared her throat. "He called Hermione a mudblood." She announced to their housemates in her best angry voice.

"Nice save." Ron muttered under his breath.

The common room was buzzing in anger over the ban of, not only their seeker, but their two beaters as well. Obscenities could be heard from every corner of the room, and continued up the stairwell as people went up to bed. It didn't take nearly as long as Harry, Ron, and Hermione thought it would for the common room to empty out. Even Ginny had worked herself up into complete exhaustion and went to bed early.

"Tell me again how it's Draco's fault this all started?" Hermione asked Ron cutting her eyes at him.

Ron cringed. He hated when she used his first name. "He was being an ass." He mumbled.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "He usually is. What exactly did he say about me to condone you trying to tear his face off?"

"Uh... He uh... Kind of... Made mention of you and him... Shagging." He uttered the last word wrinkling his nose in disgust. Harry put his hands behind his head watching the exchange from a chair a few feet away. He shook his head stifling a laugh.

"So? What does our sex life have to do with you?"

Harry stood up throwing his hands up in the air. "Nope, fuck this I'm done."

"Oh would you just relax." Hermione said irritated.

"I'm so done." Harry began walking to the staircase of the boys dorm when lights from outside caught his attention. He stopped at the window staring out at the snow covered grounds to see the lights on in Hagrid's cabin. "Hagrid's back." he whispered gesturing Hermione and Ron to look.

A huge smile spread across all three of them. "You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Hermione asked giddy with excitement.

"I'll grab the Marauders map!" Harry grinned running up the stairs.

"I'll get the invisibility cloak!" Ron said following Harry.

Both boys bounded down the stairs with the map and cloak in hand. Harry was full of excited energy. "Let's do this!"


	11. Chapter 11

Harry, Ron , and Hermione burst into the common room frozen to the bone and trembling with fear. Hagrid had been off to find giants that were willing to fight against Voldemort for the past few months. His face was a bloody mess of deep cuts and bruises. He had initially managed to get the leader of the giants to sway towards Dumbledore's side, only for that leader to be overthrown in a gruesome riot and replaced with a new leader already acquainted with Death Eaters. Many giants who had shown interest in Hagrid's offer were slaughtered, leaving Hagrid to come home empty handed. He still held hope that other giants had received the offer well and may still be swayed.

If the story alone wasn't scary enough, the unexpected rap on the door was. The three had quickly huddled under the invisibility cloak and pushed their way toward the farthest wall of the cabin. Umbridge walked through the door her nose in the air with a frown playing at the corners of her lips. She interrogated Hagrid for what seemed like hours on where he had been, all the while searching under his bed and in his pantries for the visitors she'd suspected he was talking to before her arrival.

Luckily enough, she left without finding them in a huff. As soon as the coast was clear they said their farewells to Hagrid and bolted back into the castle.

"Giants?!" Ron gasped stripping off his wet cloak. "Does Dumbeldore want him dead?"

Harry cut his eyes at Ron pulling off his boots. "You know better than that." He growled. "Voldemort now has giants on his side. This isn't looking good."

"At least we still have Dumbledore's Army." Hermione said using her wand to dry out their sopping cloaks laying by the fire.

"Do you remember the last meeting?" Harry snapped. "We haven't even gotten as far as disarming charms."

"Relax Harry. We still have loads of time. We'll just start on basic offensive spells like stunning and what not this month. Most of the class has done extremely well with disarming spells." Hermione said calmly standing up and stretching.

"You know, she is right, as much as I don't want to admit it." Ron said unbuttoning his shirt.

"Ronald!" She screeched turning away. "For Merlin's sake we are in the common room! Can't you wait until you're upstairs to get indecent?!"

Ron smiled. "Make you uncomfortable, does it?" He laughed walking towards her. Harry launched a book at his head. "Unless you want Hermione to bloody your face again, I would fall back." Harry said inching away from them.

"Fuck!" Ron shrieked as Hermione's knee connected with his groin. He curled up on the floor rasping, tears streaming down his face. "Oy! I was just having a bit of fun!" He hissed.

Hermione smiled sweetly, pleased with herself. "Goodnight boys." She turned and made her way up to the girls dorm.

"Told you so." Harry said shaking his head. "I'm going to bed."

"Are you just going to leave me here?!" Ron breathed still clutching himself. Harry walked on without a word, stifling a laugh.

* * *

December was upon them bringing rolling torrents of snow and an unimaginably large amount of homework. The closer it came to Christmas holiday the more schoolwork piled up. Prefect duties had now come to include supervision of holiday decor and collaboration of festive house events. Even Hermione found it difficult to keep her homework in check let alone sneak off to spend any time with Draco. It seemed like no matter where they were others were around. A quick kiss here and there was all they could manage. Conversation between the two was very limited as well. Whenever Draco and Hermione would stop to chat another prefect would arrive assuming they were discussing the end of term festivities.

Harry's scar burned almost everyday and nightmares haunted him every night. Hermione and Ron tried their best to get him to open up with no such luck. All they could do is just be there when he needed them. The morning before the last DA meeting of the term seemed to help put Harry at ease. The classes were grueling and everyone was more than relieved to sit in the common room after such a long day.

A throng of girls stood jumping and squealing in front of the fire when Hermione, Ron, and Harry had finally made it into the common room. "There she is!" Ginny yelled bounding towards Hermione. The vibrant red head tugged her over to the fire, parting the sea of girls, and thrusting her in front of a large bouquet exotic flowers of all different hues, shapes, and sizes. A large crystal vase with silver trim held the impressive arrangement, and a sparkling bewitched heart hovered above it with Hermione's name. As she reached out to touch it a quiet pop and sizzle broke the enchantment leaving a small red card in her hand. It was blank with the exception of the words "With Love" embellished in silver calligraphy on the back.

"Who is it from?" A fourth year girl asked.

Hermione looked at her confused. "I don't know." It didn't seem like anything Draco would go out of his way to do. He just wasn't the kind of guy she imagined to do such a grand gesture.

Ginny cleared the other girls away and took her seat beside her. Hermione was still flipping the card over inspecting it for some other clue. "You know who it's from." Ginny whispered.

"This isn't like him. 'With Love'? He would have written something else." Hermione's eyes lit up. "Unless..." She quickly drew out her wand. "Aparecium." She whispered tapping the card.

Just as she thought, a message began to appear.

Meet me under the stars when the lights go out.

With Love,

Your Pretentious Prick

"What does that mean?" Ginny asked reading over the card again.

"Not sure." Hermione lied silently giggling and tucking it into her pocket. With the DA meeting that night there was no way she would be able to join up with him right after lights out. Even worse, she couldn't tell him why she couldn't. She had already sworn to Harry and Ron that she would keep Draco in the dark about it.

Ginny had walked across the room to chat with Neville as Harry inspected the Marauders map in preparation for their departure to the Room of Requirement. Hermione's eyes lit up. She grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled a note to Draco before placing it in her cloak pocket.

The Room of Requirement had been decked out in full fledged holiday cheer. It was bizarre but pleasantly surprising. Dobby stood in the center of the room below a large banner with the glimmering words "Have a Very Harry Christmas" looking very pleased with himself.

"Did you do this, Dobby?" Hermione asked admiring his hard work.

"Yes!" Dobby squeaked with joy. "Dobby hopes Harry and his friends enjoy it."

"It's brilliant, Dobby!" Harry said shaking the small elf's hand. "Alright. Let's get started! Pair up!" Harry yelled out to the group walking away.

Hermione stooped down putting a hand on Dobby's knobby shoulder. "Dobby, can you deliver a letter for me?"

"Of course! Anything for Miss Granger!" Hermione put her finger to his lips. "This is very important." She slipped the piece of parchment into his hand. His face broke into a full on smile. "To who, Miss Granger?"

"To Mr Malfoy." Dobby froze. "Is Miss Granger sure?"

"Yes." She smiled. "If Miss Granger is sure, Dobby will set off to deliver it." He whispered. Hermione nodded and gave the scrawny elf a tight hug. "Thank you so much Dobby." His smile returned as he began weaving through all of the students and back into the hall sealing the door shut.

"Hermione! You've got Neville! Wands at the ready!" Harry called over the noise. Hermione sighed taking her place across from Neville. Hopefully his aim had gotten better since the last week.

* * *

Draco appraised himself in the mirror for one last time before heading up to the astronomy tower. He readjusted his dark pre-distressed designer jeans on his hips, smoothed out his fitted black polo, and ran his fingers through his short platinum blonde hair. He let out a deep breath. He couldn't help but worry that this would be the last time he would see Hermione ever again. From what he gathered, Malfoy Manor had become a surrogate home to the Dark Lord and his followers. What if something truly terrible took place over the holidays? What if he knew about Hermione? Would he come after her or would he just kill Draco and be done with it?

A flash in the fireplace caught his attention. Dobby stumbled into the room, nervous with his eyes darting in all directions. "For you Mr Malfoy." Dobby bowed down holding the parchment above his head.

Draco took the paper from his hand and waved him away. He couldn't understand why an elf would be delivering him a letter, especially at that time of night.

10 o'clock

Seventh Floor

Look for a door opposite Barnaby the Barmy

With Love,

Hermione

PS

The flowers are beautiful

He smiled tucking the note into his back pocket.

* * *

Hermione slipped into a pair of black leggings and an oversized cowl neck sweater, using a spell to smooth down her frizzy hair. She wasn't one for dressing up. It was more for comfort than anything else. Over the past month her clothes had become a bit snug, almost to the point of discomfort. She had yet to enchant her clothes to a better fit, hoping she was just retaining water.

She crept out into the corridor pausing to listen for any footsteps. She was lucky that night, not even Peeves was seen on her walk to the Room of Requirement. She walked by it three times thinking about how much her and Draco just needed a safe place to be together. Just as the door appeared she heard footsteps walking towards her. She spun around wand in hand.

"You really should watch where you are pointing that thing." Draco chuckled with his hands in the air. She rolled her eyes trying to conceal her smile. She grabbed his hand leading him through the door.

A small gasp escaped her lips at the sight before them. A large blood red four-poster bed sat to the left, a brick fire place to the right. A dark brown area rug sat in between the two on the hard wood floor. The room was dark with the exception of the light thrown from the fire.

Hermione turned around to see Draco was gone. She looked left and right utterly confused. She could have sworn he was behind her a moment ago. She shrieked as she felt two strong arms pick her up and toss her over a muscular shoulder.

"Put me down Draco!" She yelled laughing. She beat her fists into his back flailing her legs.

He smacked her bottom playfully. "If you insist." He leaned over the bed ready to throw her. She caught his neck on the way down bringing him down on top of her. Their foreheads hit together.

"Ouch!" Hermione said pushing him off of her. Draco turned onto his back next to her rubbing his head chuckling.

"I know I've been an asshole for the past four years, but was it really necessary to head butt me?" He turned his head to look at her smirking.

She giggled turning onto her side, her head propped up in her hand. "Hey, I've wanted to do worse. Consider yourself lucky."

He turned his body to face hers, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I know." He gave her a soft kiss on the lips, pulling back to look into her eyes. His gaze was gentle and searching. Her heart began to pound in her chest. She used her free hand to trace his chiseled jawline with shaky fingers.

He had never needed someone so badly in his life. Looking into her eyes he could see his whole future, the future he wanted. In his tumultuous life she was his only constant, the only person that believed in him, that cared about him without an agenda. He knew that he would do anything to keep her safe.

"If we make it..." Hermione pressed her finger to his lips cutting him off. She didn't want to think about what was yet to come. "We will." She whispered.

She wrapped her hand around his neck pulling him into a kiss. Their lips moved together almost urgently as he pulled her flush against his body. He moved the kiss along her jaw just beneath her ear feeling her shiver. She pushed him over onto his back straddling his hips. She looked down at the man beneath her, his eyes sparkling, a smile slowly moving across his face. She folded down on top of him, her lips moving onto his hungrily. He slid his hands under her sweater un-clasping her bra deepening the kiss. Hermione moaned into his mouth feeling his erection push through the fabric of his jeans rubbing her sex.

Draco sat up pulling her sweater over her head and discarding his own shirt to the floor as well. He slid her bra off her shoulders leaning back appraising her. A hot flush spread across her body as he placed feather light kisses down her neck running his tongue along her collar bone. She arched her back pushing her chest out wrapping her legs around his waist. His mouth closed around her right nipple. She squirmed on top of him relishing the feel of his mouth on her flesh.

"Draco..." She whispered. He came back up to meet her eyes. "I need you."

He twisted his body laying her on her back beside him crawling between her legs. He bent forward kissing her passionately as he fumbled with his belt buckle, finally managing to unbuckle it and unbutton his jeans. Hermione smiled against his lips. She put her hands on his chest pushing him back. "Having trouble?" She smirked.

He cocked an eyebrow. "No, but you will once I can get these stupid things off." She shoved him off the bed laughing. "Do I get a show?" She teased.

Draco looped his thumbs into his jeans and boxers swiveling his hips comically with his lips pursed fighting back a smile. Hermione laid on her stomach her head in her hands and her knees bent with her feet in the air. She had never seen this side of him before. It felt like she was looking at a completely different person than the one she had known before. He turned around shaking his rear at her. She sat up shaking her head as he turned back around.

"Like what you see?" He dropped his pants to the floor and stretched his arms out to the side. Hermione's eyes grew wide as she took in his naked frame. Her eyes stopped at his large erection. Had he always been that big?

"I'll take that as a yes." He quickly pulled off his shoes and pants sauntering forward grabbing her legs causing her to fall onto her back. Draco made quick work of her flats and grasped onto the top of her leggings pulling them off in one smooth motion her legs dangling off the side of the bed. He knelt down placing a soft kiss just above her sex. Her breath hitched as he slid his tongue between her folds lightly prodding at her clitoris. Her body buzzed with need. His hands hooked under her thighs as he sucked her gently. The dull ache between her legs grew as he continued. She bucked her hips nearing her release when he quickly pulled away.

"Why did you stop?" She rasped. He sat down next to her pulling her onto his lap kissing her deeply as she slid the length of his erection between her damp folds. He growled grabbing her hips and positioning her over his aching member. She dug her nails into his shoulders as she slowly glided down onto him crying out when he bucked his hips pushing the rest of his length into her.

"Hermione.." He said breathlessly snaking a hand into her hair urging her to look at him. She looked into his eyes panting and confused. "I love you." He whispered searching her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat. She never saw this coming. She gave him a soft kiss coming back up to look at his face. "I love you too." She breathed.

He pulled her flush against his body crushing his lips to hers. She tangled her hands into his hair slowly moving her hips into his, letting his shaft rub against the sensitive bundle of nerves at her cleft before plunging inside of her. Draco's hand slid from her hair onto her back as his other gripped the side of her hips thrusting up to meet her. They gripped each other tightly, their lips never moving away, as they picked up speed. Hermione tossed her head back yelling his name as she found her release. Draco bucked into her harder growling into her neck as he spilled himself inside her.

They panted pushing their foreheads together still tangled in each-other's embrace. "I mean it." He rasped kissing the tip of her nose. "You are the one." She smiled brushing her lips to his. "You are my only." She whispered. "You're still a pretentious prick, though." She snickered.

Draco held back a laugh feigning outrage. "Well I never!" He tossed her to the side smirking. "You'll pay for that." He rolled on top of her pinning her arms above her head. "Do your worst." She challenged raising her eyebrows. " I intend to."

* * *

Hermione sighed snuggling deep into her pillow, feeling an arm grip her tightly around the waist. She opened her eyes to see a naked Draco tangled in the sheets his hair sticking up in all directions nose-to-nose with her. "Morning." He said in a deep sleepy voice.

"Morning." She replied running her hands through his messy hair. She moved her hand down to trace the hard planes of his chest. "We need to get up." He whispered kissing her on the forehead. Hermione groaned moving herself to snuggle into his chest. He laughed stroking her naked back.

He gave her a squeeze before sitting up and letting out a loud yawn. Hermione sat up as well holding the blankets over her chest. She desperately wished she had brought her school robes with her. She would have to make a quick trip to Gryffindor Tower before breakfast and who knew who she would bump into on her way. She looked over at a large arm chair in the corner to see two stacks of school robes, a green and silver tie atop one and a red and gold tie on the other.

Draco stood up not even bothering to cover his naked frame. "How did these get here?" He asked pulling his boxers on.

"I guess the room conjured them. I was just thinking about how much we needed them and there they are." She summoned her clothes wiggling into her panties under the covers.

Draco shook his head chuckling. She narrowed her eyes at him working on clasping her bra. "You know I've seen you naked, right?" He said buttoning up his white shirt smirking. Hermione threw a pillow at him and finished getting dressed.

She straightened Draco's tie after she had secured her robes. He took her necklace and put it inside her shirt giving her a peck on the lips. "I'll see you later." He whispered taking his leave.

* * *

Just as Hermione reached the door to the great hall a frantic voice called out to her. "Miss Granger!" McGonagall called grabbing her by the arm. "I have been looking everywhere for you. Professor Dumbledore needs to see you immediately."

Hermione swallowed hard shaking. "Everyone is okay and safe." She whispered quickly leading Hermione to the headmaster's office. Her heart jumped into her throat. "What happened?" She croaked.

"He'll explain everything." McGonagall squeezed her hand and led her into Dumbledore's office.


	12. Chapter 12

Hermione shifted nervously on the balls of her feet. "Yu...you wanted to see me, Professor?" She stuttered. He looked like he was speaking to one of the paintings behind his desk. Dumbledore turned to face her giving a small smile

"Please sit down, Miss Granger." He summoned a cozy black leather arm chair from behind her. She nodded still trembling as she took a seat.

"Arthur Weasley was attacked last night." Hermione shot out of her seat opening her mouth ready to bombard the old wizard with a million questions. Dumbledore held his hand up. "He is stable. Harry and the Weasley's have already gone to check on him." Hermione slumped back into the chair.

"What happened?" She asked nervously bouncing her leg.

"Harry had a vision of Mr Weasley being attacked last night. It just so happened to be true."

"So, Voldemort is now projecting real time thoughts into Harry's mind?"

"Something like that. He and the others are safe and sound at Grimmauld place."

Hermione looked down at her hands playing with her fingers. While she was spending the night with Draco her best friends were in trouble and she wasn't there to help. Guilt washed over her, tears threatening to spill out.

"There was nothing you could have done" Dumbledore whispered walking around the desk to take Hermione's hand in his. "I have already Owled your parents telling them you would be staying at Hogwarts to take care of some prefect duties in preparation for the beginning of our next term." He paused squeezing her hand seeing the concern on her face. "Dobby is already packing your trunk for your departure as we speak."

"How will I get there?" She fretted. "The floo network is being watched and I can't apparate there."

"By portkey." He urged her out of the chair and around the other side of his desk. Hermione stumbled behind him still trembling. He pointed to a rusty teakettle perched on a dusty old crystal end table. "That will take you right into the drawing room at Grimmauld place. I have informed them of your impending arrival."

Dumbledore let go of her hand making his way back to his seat. Hermione swallowed hard giving him a weak smile as she touched the teakettle and felt the familiar jerk from behind her navel.

* * *

"Harry open the door." Hermione said sternly knocking on the door of his room in Grimmauld place.

She had not seen him in the whole 24 hours she had been there. It seemed like everyone was walking on egg shells when it came to Harry. Even Harry's godfather, Sirius, was on edge. No one said very much about what had occurred the night before last, and she was worried beyond belief wondering what really happened. It wasn't like Harry to shut himself away from everyone.

Harry unlocked the door sticking his head out to glare at Hermione. "What?" He spat

Hermione shoved the door open pushing Harry out of the way. Her anxiety over the whole situation dissipated, being replaced by anger. "Don't you dare give me any lip!" She scowled. "I haven't seen or heard from you in almost two days."

"You shouldn't be near me. I don't want to hurt you." He sat on the bed with his head in his hands.

He looked like he hadn't slept in days. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was paler than usual. Hermione sat next to him rubbing his back. "You won't. Please, tell me what's wrong."

"I had a nightmare that Mr Weasley was being attacked by Voldemort's snake." He took a deep breath lifting his face out of his hands. "It happened... It's all my fault. He could have died."

"If it wasn't for you he would be dead, Harry." She whispered brushing his hair out of his face.

He pulled away from her, his face going red. "I was the one attacking him! I was that fucking snake! It was me! I almost fucking killed him!" Harry broke down on the brink of tears. Hermione grabbed him around his shoulders, turning towards him, and squeezed him into a tight hug.

"You know you didn't do that. You were in bed that whole night from what Ron has told me." Hermione was caught off guard as Harry wrapped his arms around her middle, burying his face in her neck as he shook with tears. "It will all be okay." She whispered playing with his hair. "We will figure this out."

"What's happening to me?" He cried. Hermione held him closer not saying another word until he had cried himself into complete exhaustion.

* * *

Hermione tip-toed down the dusty wood steps into the kitchen. Everyone was fast asleep except for her. The past 5 days were a blur and she had yet to really sit by herself to think. She grabbed a cupcake off the counter and sat at the empty table picking at it. Harry was finally doing a bit better and the frantic feelings in the house had mellowed.

She pulled Draco's ring from under her tank-top sliding it back and forth along the necklace. She smiled thinking about their last night together. Waking up next to him felt natural, his presence made her feel complete. "I'm in love with Draco Malfoy." She whispered to herself. "And he loves me of all people." She gave a giggle shaking her head in disbelief. The guy that she spent years despising and fighting with was now the love if her life. Her mind wandered seeing Draco dressed in a tux in front of an alter waiting for her. A beautiful platinum blond baby tucked away safely in her arms. The reality of it all smacked her in the face. Those things would probably never happen given the war.

She sighed and peeled back the paper from her cup cake taking a few bites before tossing it in the trash. She stretched and made her way up the stairs. Hermione had stepped onto the first landing when her stomach began to lurch. She dashed into the bathroom at the end of the hall, barely making it to the toilet. She sat on the floor laying her head on the cool porcelain as her stomach settled. "It must be my nerves." She thought to herself standing up on shaky legs. She turned on the cold tap splashing her face with the freezing water to get her wits about herself.

As she made her exit she bumped into a tall dark cloaked figure standing right outside the door. She jumped back hitting her head on the door frame.

"Why are you out of bed wandering about?" Snape asked crossing his arms.

Hermione rubbed the back of her head glaring up at him. "Last time I checked we were not at Hogwarts and you were off duty, Professor." She challenged.

Snape looked her up and down cringing. "May I remind you, Miss Granger, this is the house of the order, not a common muggle brothel." She looked down at her tight tank-top and short pajama shorts feeling the anger well up in her chest leaving her speechless. She growled pushing past him.

"One last thing." Snape said turning to face her again.

"What now?" She hissed putting her hands on her hips.

"Not that it is any of my business, but when were you planning on making Mr Malfoy aware of your current..." His eyes traveled down to her midsection. "... Affliction..."

Hermione froze. How did he know about Draco and what did he mean by 'affliction'? She cocked her head to the side. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. Malfoy and I? You must be feeling ill professor."

"The serpent ring around your neck says otherwise." She cursed herself for not tucking it back in her shirt before leaving the bathroom. His eyes narrowed at her. "Not to mention, the show you two shamelessly put on in the astronomy tower. I'm not blind nor stupid, Miss Granger."

Her heart was pounding out of her chest. There was no way she could logically deny it now. "I wasn't aware that my romantic relationships were any of your business." She snapped. "And what do you mean by 'affliction'?" She added raising her eyebrows.

"For a witch so academically gifted, you are insufferably challenged when it comes to common sense." He scowled glancing back down to her abdomen.

Hermione's eyebrows knit together as she followed his gaze. "Yea, I've put on some weight. How nice of you to point that out." She said folding her arms over her middle cutting her eyes at him. "If you are trying to insinuate that I am with child you have lost your mind. One would have to miss a period to be..." She trailed off as another wave of nausea overtook her.

How had she not realized that she had missed not one period but 2 or 3? The constant vomiting and pumpkin juice fiasco should have been a red flag. She had been so caught up in her studies, friends, and Draco that she never made any of these connections.

"Put on some proper clothes and meet me in my study on the top floor." Snape whispered harshly disappearing with a swish of his cloak.

* * *

The room was dark and musty. The walls were lined with shelves upon shelves of books. In the center was a large chestnut desk covered in scratches and cracks, with a stony faced Professor Snape seated behind it. Hermione sat with her knees to her chest on the uncomfortable scratchy love seat in front of him.

Snape stood up with obvious irritation. "Take this." He growled handing her a vial of potion. "I would prefer you didn't regurgitate in my room. The stench in here is already bad enough."

She glared at him snatching the vial and downing the potion in one gulp. She felt instant relief as she set the empty vial back on his desk. "Thank you." She mumbled standing to leave.

"Not so fast Granger." He caught her arm pulling her to face him. "There is a Witching Ward in a small building behind St Mungo's." He said matter-of-factly taking a seat behind the desk again conjuring a stack of papers.

"I'm going to be killed if this gets out to the wrong people, aren't I?" She asked looking up at him.

"You are carrying around the child of the only male heir left to a wealthy, well respected, pure-blood family. While you are hosting that child you will be safe."

"But I'm a muggle-born." She replied confused.

Snape let out a long irritated breath. "The child will be half-blood. While the Malfoy's will be cross, the Dark Lord is not going to execute a child that carries such a strong, ancient bloodline." He gestured her over to the desk holding out the stack of conjured papers.

"Francesca DeLoon?" She questioned reading the name on the top paper.

"These are documents to take to the Witching Ward later today." He said standing to shoo her out the door. "This will conceal your identity while being looked at."

Hermione stopped at the door, turning to look at Snape with tears in her eyes. "Draco doesn't need to know about this."

"You can't hide this forever, stop being so daft."

"I have no intentions of remaining pregnant." She said looking down at her slippers fidgeting.

"Look at me Granger." He commanded. She obliged using the back of her hand to wipe the tears from her cheek. "I couldn't care less what your decision is, but do try to get it through your thick skull that just because the... evidence... is gone doesn't mean it never happened. Ruminate on that and get out of my sight." He hissed.

She turned on her heal walking out into the hall still in complete shock.

"Happy Christmas." Snape growled under his breath slamming the door behind her.


	13. Chapter 13

"Happy Christmas, Hermione!" Ginny yelled jumping on Hermione's bed. "Get out of bed, sleepy head! Mum refuses to start handing out gifts until you're down stairs."

"Okay, okay." Hermione grumbled pushing Ginny away. "Give me a few minutes, for Merlin's sake. You're worse than Ron."

Ginny stuck her tongue out and bounded out of the room. Hermione rolled onto her back staring at the ceiling. "That had to be the worst nightmare ever." She thought to herself. It had to be a nightmare. Snape hadn't been at Grimmauld Place at all over the holidays. "Finding out I'm pregnant, from Snape? Definitely a nightmare." She laughed finally getting herself up from the bed. She pulled an old oversized tee shirt over her tank top and made her way out into the hall. She rounded the corner that led to the stairs just in time to see Snape's cape billow behind him as he descended them.

"No.." She whispered. Hermione doubled back sprinting into her room and grabbing her charmed bottomless beaded bag. "Please no... Please please please no..." She panted as she frantically searched through the bag tossing items over her shoulder as she went. A scream echoed through the room, down the hall, and into the first floor foyer. In her hands were the papers Snape had conjured for her the night before. Harry burst into her room, eyes wild.

"What's wrong?!" He asked hurrying to kneel beside her on the floor.

She shoved the paperwork back into her bag with shaky hands. "I... I... thought that... I saw a... spider." She stammered looking down at the floor. Harry shook his head smiling. "C'mon, let's get downstairs."

He helped Hermione off the floor, grabbing her hand, and leading her down stairs to the celebration. She put on her best 'happy face' and sat on the floor next to Ginny as Molly began handing out gifts.

* * *

Everyone was so excited for Arthur's return home that no one noticed when Hermione fell back and slipped away. She casually walked into the nearest ladies room and secured herself in an empty stall. It would be a few hours before Arthur Weasely would actually be discharged. She was lucky that another witch had cancelled her appointment in the Witching Ward for noon. She pulled out a compact and her wand charming her facial features to look different. Conjuring a simple wedding band, she slipped it on her finger before making one last pass with her wand changing her clothes. She tucked her wand and compact away, unlocking the stall door, and glancing at herself in the mirror over the sinks.

She had charmed herself to look slightly older, with golden blonde hair, and light green eyes. She was dressed smartly in a black pencil skirt, pink ruffled blouse, and a black blazer. The woman staring back at her looked like she had just come from a very important business meeting. Satisfied with her handy-work she left the bathroom and made her way out the door to the Witching Ward.

Thankfully, the papers Snape had sent her with carried every scrap of information the Ward needed. Even though he had been less than pleasant the night before, she made a mental note to thank him. The waiting room was full of expecting witches pouring over animated magazines on prenatal care. Hermione crossed her legs bouncing her foot nervously. How was she supposed to tell the healers she wanted to terminate without feeling guilty? Was she supposed to just come right out and ask without a prelude? Would she ever tell Draco? Would he be hurt if he knew?

She was broken out of her reverie as a kindly middle aged witch in bright periwinkle robes called her back to an exam room. The room felt nothing like a muggle doctors office. There was no harsh chemical smells from disinfectant or blinding fluorescent light. The lights were muted and a soft raised cot sat against the farthest wall. Animated pictures of newborns and happy expectant mothers covered the walls. She took a seat on the cot gazing nervously at the chipper witch in front of her.

"My name is Celest and I will be your medi witch today." She said stretching out her hand.

"Her... Francesca DeLoon." Hermione stammered shaking the witch's hand.

"What brings you here today Mrs. DeLoon?"

Hermione twirled her hair nervously looking down at the impeccable hardwood floor. "I think I may be pregnant." Celest rubbed Hermione's shoulder before giving it a squeeze.

"Don't fret, my dear. Let's just start with the basics. Last menstrual cycle?" The witch asked in a sweet voice.

"I... Uh... Don't remember." Hermione replied nervously.

Celest smiled urging Hermione to lean back on the cot. "No worries sweetheart. You look like quite the busy woman. Do you have any children?" She asked gently lifting Hermione's blouse up exposing her stomach.

"No." She replied with a weak smile.

Celest flicked her wand making a screen appear in front of them. She then laid her wand on Hermione's tummy moving it around like a muggle ultrasound technician would when performing a sonogram.

"This isn't necessary. I just wanted to have..." She stopped mid-sentence as she saw a tiny baby come into view on the screen. It looked almost skeletal with bony little fingers clenched into fists slowly wiggling around. She let out a tiny gasp as it turned its head towards her. The face, while still a bit alien, had already started developing features that were very familiar. She squinted her eyes trying to figure out exactly what it was. Draco's face popped into her mind. "That nose..." She breathed

"Looks like your husband's?" Celest asked eagerly using her free hand to take measurements on the screen.

Hermione nodded. "She's beautiful."

"You mean he." Celest said beaming.

All thought of her prior plan was gone. Looking at the squirming baby on the screen she couldn't help but smile as the love she felt for him washed over her. "I'm going to be a mom."

"To a handsome little guy." The kind witch added, removing her wand from hermione's stomach and tapping the screen closed. Hermione threw her arms around the short soft witch and cried with a big smile on her face.

* * *

Hermione bustled out of the Ward still staring at the picture of her unborn son that Celeste had given her smiling. As terrified as she was about how she would tell Draco, she couldn't help but be excited. She was halfway back to the central St Mungo's building when a set of long pale fingers plucked the photo from her hands.

"Due date is June 13th. I guess that puts you around 4 months." Snape drawled stepping in front of her.

She looked down at her pink blouse and pencil skirt. She had yet to remove the charms on her appearance. "Excuse me?" She asked doing her best to look confused.

"You could have, at the very least, charmed that rats nest you call hair into something less offensive, Miss Granger."

She snatched the photo from his hand shoving it into her bag. "What are you doing here?" She hissed glaring at him.

"Mr Weasley was released a half hour ago. I volunteered to go find you before someone else did." He crossed his arms staring down at her. "A simple 'Thank you' would suffice." He growled.

Hermione was taken aback by Snape's 'kind' gesture. "Thanks." She mumbled. The night before he had been cold and uncaring. He had made her feel like she was the most vile creature he had ever seen. Maybe this was his way to make amends. They walked in silence to the door of St Mungo's.

"Change and be in Grimmauld place within the hour." Snape said looking straight ahead. "As far as the Weasley's and Potter are concerned, you ran into that dunderhead Lockhart and lost track of time."

Hermione nodded mumbling another thanks. "You will be responsible for telling Draco." He tossed over his shoulder disappearing with a crack.

* * *

A heavy snowfall greeted the trio when they returned to Hogwarts. Hermione had never been so happy to see snow and ice in her life. Since she had her pregnancy confirmed a few days before, she felt as if her belly was growing bigger by the second and had become partial to layering her clothing to help hide it. Eventually, the school would find out. To her displeasure, there were no charms, spells, or potions that were safe to use in an attempt to hide it. Even a shrinking charm could hinder the baby's growth.

The three entered the Great Hall a little later than they had originally planned. Hermione's eyes swept over the Slytherin table to see that Draco wasn't there. Part of her was worried and the other relieved since she had not figured out exactly how she was going to tell him. Snape had given her a couple weeks worth of potion to help with the morning sickness and of course, a few snide comments about how 'insufferably asinine' she was.

Draco was still missing by the end of that first day back. Hermione tried to keep her senses about herself, but was failing miserably. Ginny had been a little more tentative with her than normal.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked sitting down on Hermione's bed next to her. It was early and most of their housemates were still downstairs catching up.

"Nothing. I'm just exhausted with everything that happened over the holiday." She replied. It wasn't a total lie, but it wasn't the whole truth.

Ginny gave her a quick hug standing up. "It's been hard on all of us. Get some rest, and we'll talk later." She was convinced that something else was going on that Hermione wasn't telling her. She would let her sleep on it and question her later.

Hermione watched until Ginny disappeared down the stairs before pulling the animated photo of her son from under her pillow. She laid back staring at the little wiggling baby, rubbing her slightly distended tummy. "I love you." She whispered dozing off.


	14. Chapter 14

What if I wanted to break  
Laugh it all off in your face  
What would you do?  
What if I fell to the floor  
Couldn't take all this anymore  
What would you do, do, do?

Come break me down  
Bury me, bury me  
I am finished with you  
Look in my eyes  
You're killing me, killing me  
All I wanted was you  
"The Kill" by 30 Seconds to Mars

* * *

Hermione had never been so thankful that her morning sickness got her up before the rest of her female housemates, especially Ginny. She had fallen asleep with the ultra sound picture in plain sight. All someone would have had to do was peek behind her bed curtains to see it.

"You really should go see Madam Pomfrey." Ginny said as she started getting dressed for the day. "It seems like all you do is puke and sleep these days."

"I'm sure it will pass soon." Hermione lied pulling her hair off of her neck. She was 17 weeks along and her tummy had already started to round out. It was still cold enough to put on quite a few bulky layers to mask it. From what she had read, hiding it wouldn't be an option for very much longer. As far as she could tell people just thought she was gaining weight.

It had been a solid week and there was still no sign of Draco. Hermione knew that Snape had to know something, but anytime she tried to approach him he found a way to allude her. The one time she did manage to corner him he docked points from Gryffindor for 'annoying the professor'. Snape was hiding something.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked Hermione, plopping down on the couch next to her.

It was Friday night and their housemates were celebrating the beginning of the weekend. Ron had snuck off with a quiet fourth year to have a snog, while Ginny stood in a corner surrounded by love sick boys vying for her attention.

"Nothing." She smiled weakly.

"I know you're lying. You haven't been yourself since we got back from holiday."

Hermione hated lying to Harry. "I'm just tired and under the weather."

Harry decided not to push the issue. "So, how long do you think it will take Ron's new lady to run for the hills?" He joked.

"I'll wager 5 galleons on 2 weeks." Fred said leaning over the back of the couch making Hermione jump.

"Bit optimistic don't you think?" George cut in sitting on the arm of the couch next to Hermione. "20 galleons on 1week."

"Now that's just mean." Hermione laughed elbowing George in his side. "At least give the poor guy 10 days."

"10 hours 25 galleons." Ginny called out leaning over George. The five of them laughed carrying on. These were the moments Hermione loved the most.

The common room had started to dwindle down a couple of hours later. Hermione felt like she would fall asleep on the spot if she didn't get up and move around. Ron had been too busy to patrol that evening, so she figured she would do a round, maybe even go up to the astronomy tower for some fresh air.

"I'm heading out for a quick patrol." She told the group grabbing her cloak. "Have fun." Harry said glancing up from his and Ginny's game of wizarding chess.

* * *

Hermione climbed the spiral staircase to the top of the astronomy tower. The sky was cloudless, the moonlight gleamed off of the fresh snow blanketing the grounds. It felt good to be alone and away from the prying eyes of her friends. There was never any quiet time to herself. Everyone close to her knew something was wrong, and she didn't feel right telling them about the pregnancy until Draco knew. It was bad enough that Snape knew about it before even she realized it.

The cold air was inviting as it danced upon her cheeks. She sighed thinking about how she would break the news to Draco. Part of her was worried that he would run off and deny everything. The thought of having to approach his parents made her nauseous. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she knew that Draco had immediate family members locked up in Azkaban for killing and torturing muggle-borns, and that terrified her. Snape had already assured her that she and the baby would be safe, at least she would until she gave birth to the Malfoy heir. It didn't stop her from worrying about her son's safety after he was born.

She jumped as the door to the tower creaked open. Standing in the doorway was the love of her life, the father of her son. He was disheveled, his hair stuck up at weird angles, his long sleeve white button up shirt was wrinkled and pulled out from his black slacks. She opened her mouth to speak when he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into a tight hug. "I've missed you so much." He whispered into her hair.

"I've been so worried. Where have you been?" Hermione asked lifting her head up to look into his eyes. His once fiery grey eyes had turned into dull lifeless orbs.

He bent forward catching her lips with his. His hands moved into her hair as his tongue traced her bottom lip. She melted into him as she opened her mouth to allow him entrance. She had so much to tell him and so many unanswered questions. It didn't take long for her to forget her initial intentions when he released her hair slamming her into the wall with his hand roaming under her shirt. His touch was urgent, his lips frenzied. Something wasn't right.

He pinned her with his knee between her thighs pressing his body flush against hers, groaning as she gently nipped at his bottom lip. She rocked her hips against his knee, moaning when she felt the delicious electricity run through her body. Her teeth grazed his jawline as she began fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. He growled as she gently sucked on his neck moving to slide his shirt off his shoulders.

He froze catching her hands and jumping back. She dropped her arms to her side looking back at him confused as he began to button his shirt back up. "What is going on?" She asked stepping forward.

"Don't worry about it." He snapped wincing when she reached out to grab his forearm to pull him back.

Her heart fell into her stomach. It was at that moment that everything clicked into place as to why he had been gone for so long. "Pull up your sleeve." She demanded.

"It's not what you think." He stammered

"Pull up your fucking sleeve." She hissed crossing her arms.

He looked down at the floor unbuttoning the cuff at his wrist looking completely defeated. "You know I love you right?" He whispered glancing up at her. Hermione grabbed his wrist shoving his sleeve up. Her blood ran cold. A skull and serpent marred the soft pale skin on his inner forearm. The world seemed to crumble around her. The man she loved, the father of her unborn son, was a Death Eater. She released his arm taking a large step back tears stinging her eyes.

"Hermione, it's not what it looks like." He said yanking his sleeve back down.

"Really? Because that certainly looks like the brand of a dark wizard hell bent on purging the world of all muggle-born witches and wizards." She spat.

"Do you really think I wanted this?!" He bellowed taking a step forward.

Hermione drew out her wand pointing it at his throat. "Don't you dare come near me." She whispered dangerously.

"I had no fucking choice! Will you at least put your fucking wand down?"

"What? So you can fucking do away with me?" Tears streamed down her face, her wand arm shaking. "I fucking loved you! I trusted you! How the fuck could you do this to me?!"

He lunged forward, pushing her arm down, and pulling her to his chest. "Let go of me!" She weeped slamming her small fists into his chest. "Why?! Don't you fucking care?!" She choked out sobbing into his neck.

"I love you. I am so sorry. Please.." His voice cracked tightening his grasp. Hermione stopped her assault using her hands to push him away. Draco loosened his hold looking down into her blood shot eyes. Her body trembled as she reached up to touch his face.

A sharp pain stung his cheek as he stumbled back. She stood tall shaking her hand out and stared daggers into his eyes. "What the fuck?! Why won't you just fucking listen?!" He hissed rubbing his cheek.

Hermione stifled back another sob. There was no way to explain himself out of it. Out of all the ways he could betray her, he choose the worst. The man in front of her that was once her lifeline had become a monster bent on destroying her kind. Her son deserved better. She began to walk past him when he grabbed onto her elbow pleading her to stay with his eyes.

"Don't you ever touch me again... Malfoy." She seethed ripping her arm from his. He stood frozen to the spot. Hearing her address him as she had when they were mortal enemies stung worse than the slap she had administered beforehand.

"Fine! Fucking leave then! I don't fucking need you anyway, you filthy fucking mudblood!"

She spun on her heel towards him, her face a violent shade of red. "I hope the Dementors take their sweet time with you. Maybe they'll even let you share a cell with your Daddy." She ripped his ring and necklace from her neck, barely noticing the blood running down her shoulders from where it bit into her skin. It fell to the floor with a loud clatter as she took one last look at him. "Fuck you." She said under her breath storming out the door to the stairwell.

Draco fell to his knees in front of the necklace slamming his fists down on the floor. His body shook violently as he picked it up yelling out like a wounded animal. There was no going back. He leaned back, sitting against the wall with his knees apart. One hand was perched on a knee clenching the necklace while he ran his other through his hair openly weeping. He tucked his face into his shoulder to muffle his anguished screams.


	15. Chapter 15

Hermione collapsed on the common room floor panting and sweating. She had run full speed all the way back to Gryffindor tower. The room was dark with the exception of a few dim embers in the hearth. Muted snores trickled down from the dorms. She curled into a ball on her side clutching her arms around her abdomen. It felt like a hole had been punched straight through her chest, leaving an excruciating void where her heart should be.

Her body shook violently as she continued to sob. "How could I be so stupid?" She hissed inwardly. "You knew damn well that his father was a Death Eater. What did you think was going to happen? Did you think that some how everything would be okay and you two would live happily ever after?" She chastised herself.

"I'm such a fucking idiot." She hiccuped, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

She was so distraught that she never noticed that someone had kneeled behind her, until she felt two warm hands pull her head up onto their lap, brushing the hair out of her face. "It's okay." Harry whispered.

Hermione sat up quickly, becoming dizzy and falling onto his bare chest. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders laying his head atop of hers. She moved her head to the side crying into his chest. "Let's get you off the floor." He said helping her to her feet. He led her to the love seat closest to the hearth and jogged away to retrieve his wand upstairs.

The fire roared back to life when he returned. The warmth was so welcoming. The tremors seemed to subside as the heat washed over her body. Harry stood in front of the couch, taking in his best friend's broken appearance. Hermione looked up at him noticing he was only wearing flannel bottoms, leaving his upper body exposed. It looked like he had leapt out of bed without a thought. She couldn't help but feel guilty for waking him.

"I'm so sorry." She said, tears still streaming down her face. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"I was already awake." He walked over and took a seat beside her, rubbing her back. "What's going on?"

Hermione shook her head. She didn't want to talk about it. The pain was so intense that she was afraid uttering a word about it would just put salt in the wounds.

"Malfoy did this, didn't he?"

She looked down at her knees, bouncing her leg nervously. "I don't want to talk about it."

"What did he do?" Harry urged impatiently.

"I don't want to fucking talk about it. Did you not fucking hear me?!" She spat yanking away from him.

He pulled her back against his chest with one arm and tipped her chin up, forcing her to look at his face. His green eyes bore into hers, searching for whatever secret she was hiding. The heat from the fireplace had made Hermione's multiple layers of clothing unbearable. Harry released her, gently unbuttoning her traveling cloak and sliding it off her shoulders.

"You must be dying under all of that." He said leaning away. "Go upstairs and change. I will be down here waiting. Something is wrong and I'm not leaving you alone until I know you're okay." He said sternly.

"And if I don't?" She challenged.

"Then I will attempt to go up there causing the 'oh my gods a boy is trying to go upstairs to get frisky' alarm to go off and wake everyone."

Hermione laughed, feeling marginally better. She could always count on Harry to break tension and make her smile. "Fine then." She sniffled hurrying up the stairs.

She crept across the room to her trunk, quickly stripping out of her robes, and tossing on an oversized tee shirt and shorts. Although the thought of Harry attempting to go up to the girls dorm was amusing, waking up her female housemates would not fair well. She grabbed a hair-tie and bounded down the steps putting her hair up in a messy ponytail.

As promised, he was still sitting in the love seat with an arm propped up on the back of it. He hadn't even bothered to go back to his dorm to put on a shirt. As the light from the fire flickered over his face she noticed deep purple markings under his eyes. A pang of guilt hit her again. He needed sleep and there she was blubbering like an idiot, waking him up. There was already so much chaos in his life that he didn't need her problems on top of it.

"You look exhausted." She said folding her arms over her midsection. It had become second nature to do so, in hopes of concealing her baby 'bump'.

He smiled shaking his head. "I'm fine. Same old, same old. We barely get to talk anymore as it is. It would be nice for just the two of us to have a sit down."

Hermione walked over to the love seat. "Under one condition."

"No Malfoy?"

"No Malfoy."

He nodded as she took a seat. She had never noticed how muscular he was before. He had always been smaller, but quidditch had seemed to make a marked difference in his physique. The smell of sandalwood flooded her senses as he shifted to face her. He was quite handsome. She caught herself wondering why she would have ever messed around with Draco when she had someone like Harry in her life. Not only was he her best friend, but they shared a connection that she never felt with anyone else. "No! Stop that! Don't you dare go there!" She scolded herself.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Harry looked concerned. He took her hand in his giving it a light squeeze. "I don't know what happened tonight, but I do know that you deserve better."

Tears had begun to cloud her vision. Even if she believed she deserved better there was no turning back. She was carrying a Death Eater's child. Nothing he could say or do would fix that. She loved the baby steadily growing inside of her, but the thought of bringing him into a literal war zone made her sick to her stomach.

Harry took his arm off of the back of the love seat and pulled her into his chest. Hermione curled into his side enjoying the warm embrace. She nuzzled into his chest, breathing in his scent, and feeling his soft skin against her face. Without thinking, she laid a hand just above his knee, absently rubbing his leg. If he had noticed he didn't show it. "Stop! What are you doing?! No!" Her mind screamed at her.

He gasped pushing her away. Before she had a chance to react, he pulled her hair to the side, running his fingers over the nap of her neck. She cringed.

"I don't care what you say. I'm going to have his fucking ass for this!" Harry growled.

"I did that." She whispered turning to look at him. "I literally, ripped the necklace he gave me off."

Harry scooted closer, his knee brushing her leg. The hand he had wrapped around her shoulders had fallen to the small of her back. She had suddenly become hyper aware of him next to her. He used his free hand to turn her face away, inspecting the cut on her neck. He was so close she could feel his breath on her neck. It made the skin at her nape break out in goose flesh. "Don't you fucking dare!" Her subconscious bellowed.

She turned her head back towards him, brushing her cheek on his lips. She didn't want to feel the pain anymore. The need to feel anything else, other than the anguish from earlier that evening, overrode her logical thinking. Leaning forward, she gently pressed her lips to his. He stilled, but didn't pull away. Hermione let her lips linger bringing her hand up to his neck. He gently nipped at her bottom lip, catching her off guard. Her lips parted as his lips moved with hers. Harry knotted a hand into her wild curls deepening the kiss. Hermione crawled into his lap straddling his legs, flicking her tongue into his mouth. A low growl escaped from his throat spurring her on. Their tongues danced together in a frenzy. She moaned into his mouth as he gently sucked her tongue. Upon release, she moved to nip at his jaw line, hearing his breath grow ragged. Her tongue traced over his pulse as she ground her hips into his feeling his desire. Yes, this was what she needed, the feeling of someone who wasn't Draco. She let a finger slide down his chest to his taught stomach running her finger along his waist band.

Harry jerked away pinning her arms to her sides. "We can't do this." He breathed. Hermione slid off his lap, tears stinging her eyes. "I care about you too much to let you do this."

Hermione put her head in her hands, breaking out in fresh sobs. "I'm so sorry." She muttered feeling ashamed.

"Look at me." He urged brushing the loose hair out of her face. She reluctantly looked up to find his kind eyes staring back. "You're only doing this because you're hurt. If I had let that go any farther, I would have been taking advantage of you. I love you too much to do that."

She stood up, her legs felt like jelly. The pain in her chest rekindled with the sting of complete embarrassment. Harry was right. She never looked at him as more than a friend. Neither one of them ever saw each other as a love interest. Her stomach lurched thinking about what she had just done. She quickly stumbled to the bathroom, falling to knees, and emptied her stomach into the toilet. She laid her cheek against the cool bowl trying to catch her breath.

Harry knelt beside her running a cool rag over her forehead. "I'm so sorry." She choked out.

"Please stop apologizing." He said helping her sit back against the wall.

"I seem to fuck everything up these days."

Harry moved beside her putting his arm around her shoulders. "You didn't fuck anything up. No matter what you say or do, I will always be by your side. You should know that by now. But I can't help you if you're not honest with me."

"I don't think you can." She lifted her shirt showing her bloated stomach. There was no mistaken she was pregnant under her shirt. Her belly had become smooth and round. It wasn't so big that it was completely obvious under her clothing, but in a few weeks time, it would become apparent to everyone else.

Harry pulled her onto his lap letting her cry into his neck. "We'll figure this out." He whispered rubbing her back.

* * *

The whole of the weekend became a blur. Hermione spent most of it in her bed, only coming down to the common room when Ginny forcefully pulled her from under the sheets to eat. Harry had offered to tell Ginny and Ron about the situation, including Drafo's new status. It was a relief to not have to relive everything that had happened, especially the heart breaking discovery at the top of the astronomy tower.

She had fought with Ginny Monday morning about going down to the great hall for breakfast. The thought of seeing Draco made her stomach churn and her chest ache. Not to mention, she had potions with him straight after. After arguing with Hermione for a good 10 minutes, Ginny gave up and decided to bring breakfast up to the common room for her. Hermione grudgingly excepted a plate of pancakes and sausage as Ginny sat beside her at the small wooden table in the corner of the common room.

"What are you going to do when people start noticing that you're up the duff?" Ginny asked taking a sip of orange juice. "That disgusting Death Eater is going to find out eventually." Ever since Ginny found out about Draco's involvement she refused to address him in conversation by anything else.

"There's not much I can do." Hermione put down her fork sighing. "As for the paternity dilemma, I'll just say it was someone I met on a trip to town."

"They're going to think you are some common bint, Mione." Ginny said softly.

"I love you, but I'm done talking about this." Hermione said sternly. The bell sounded announcing the end of breakfast. "I need to go."

Ginny stood up with her, hugging her friend tightly. "It'll be okay, Mione."

Hermione made a quick exit out of the portrait hole, clutching her books in front of her middle with her head down. No one knew about Draco and Hermione's once intimate relationship, the fact she was carrying his child, or that he was officially part of the Dark Lord's army, other than her best friends. It didn't stop her from feeling like all eyes were on her, that people knew, that she was being silently judged every moment outside of her dorm.

She took the stairs two at a time down into the dungeons. It sounded like everyone was already in the classroom. She made a beeline towards the class, hoping that Draco skipped out so she wouldn't have to face him. She rounded the corner coming to a screeching halt, dropping her books when she saw a flash of platinum blond hair. He spun around locking eyes with her.

His appearance was back to his usual clean cut, immaculate attire. His body had gone rigid as if he was trying to figure out what to do next. Her chest began to ache again. Tears threatened to spill over of their own volition. She moved her gaze to the floor, stooping down to pick up her belongings. She stood back up just in time to see him turn with a jerk and walk away. For the first time in Hermione's academic career, she fled back up to the common room completely abandoning class to lay in her bed crying until she couldn't cry anymore.

* * *

Draco watched the dungeon door out of his peripheral as Snape approached the front of the class. Where was Hermione? He had just seen her a few minutes ago outside of the room. Was she ditching class? The image of her horror stricken face as she saw him, the tears in her eyes as she knelt down to retrieve her books from the floor tore at his heart. She was scared of him.

He had been so busy watching for Hermione's arrival that he didn't notice the tall dark wizard in front of him until a roll of parchment came in contact with the side of his head. His eyes snapped up to the irritated professor.

"Unless that door is going to give you all the information needed to brew a dreamless sleeping drought, I suggest you pay attention." He drawled turning away to continue with the lesson. He really wished Snape would stop doing that.

He couldn't concentrate for the rest of the class. His lab partner, Pansy Parkinson, was more than happy to do all the work for him. Luckily, she made good on the assignment, filled 2 vials, and sat them at the professor's desk before he dismissed the class.

"So, any plans tonight?" Pansy asked coyly picking her belongings up from the lab table. "Looks like you could use a little distraction."

Draco scrunched his nose up and glared at her. After four years she had still not gotten the hint that he was not interested in what she had to offer. She jumped as he roughly grabbed her arm pulling her closer.

"When will you get it through your thick fucking skull that I don't want you? You are making yourself look like a desperate Knockturn Alley bint." He hissed. She pulled away with huff hurrying out of the empty classroom.

"My office now, Draco." Snape glared at him using his wand to open his office door. "Today." He snapped seeing Draco had barely moved.

Between Hermione leaving him, the Dark Lord watching his every move, and Pansy's recent idiocy he was at the end of his fuse. He dutifully followed Snape into his office falling back into the scratchy threadbare chair in front of his desk. He crossed his arms cutting his eyes at the professor.

"It seems as if Miss Granger has taken up the bad habits of the dunderheads she calls friends, or you have explaining to do." He said unblinkingly.

"Do I look like Herm... Granger's keeper." He stumbled over the words feeling Snape's scrutinizing stare over him.

"You and Miss Granger seem to take me as a fool. I see everything Draco." He said menacingly. "I suggest you fix whatever, issues, you two seem to have."

"Unless you can take this fucking brand off my arm, there is nothing to fix." Snape froze. She hadn't told him about the little secret hiding under her shirt. He wasn't going to be the one to tell him he was due to be a father in a little over five months.

"What does it matter to you?" Draco hissed.

"She's hiding something. It would be in your best interest to figure it out before it's too late." Snape stood quickly pointing to his door. "Now, get out."

The door slammed behind Draco as he walked back into the classroom. What could she be hiding? What was so important that Snape felt the need to drag him into his office and scold him like an errant child? Why couldn't he just fucking tell him? Whatever it was, it was serious. That he was sure of. He grumbled under his breath grabbing his bag and headed out to the corridor.


	16. Chapter 16

It was the end of January, and Hermione was almost 20 weeks pregnant. The past few weeks had been a mix of ups and downs. She finally felt back to normal physically, with the exception of her now protruding tummy. The whispers had already started as to her 'condition', and Draco was trying to corner her at every moment. Harry and Ron had taken up as sort of body guards to keep him away, or at least shield her. She needed to get back to the hospital for her 20 week check-up, but with Umbridge at the reigns it wouldn't be plausible for her to ask for leave pertaining to a healer appointment without the nasty toad demanding to know the circumstances. Snape knew, but she had been avoiding him like the plague. For the first time in her life she was absolutely quiet during class, not wanting to give the surly professor a reason to keep her after class. She couldn't ask him for help. He knew Draco still didn't know, and it was apparent he was less than thrilled about it.

"Just go to Madam Pomfrey." Ginny said softly sitting beside Hermione on the threadbare rug in the common room, rubbing her back.

"The moment I do everyone will know." Hermione sniffled in the throes of an emotional breakdown.

"People are already talking. That little guy's needs trump your social hang ups." Ginny replied putting a hand on her tummy. "You know the boys and I won't let anything bad happen to you."

"She's absolutely right." Harry chimed in sitting on the couch to the side of them. "Just remember that Malfoy is going to know, and he is not as stupid as he looks, unfortunately."

Hermione put her face in her hands. "I'm scared." She mumbled.

"I'll go up to the hospital wing with you tomorrow after dinner." Ginny said wrapping her arms around her sobbing friend.

"I really think Harry or I should go too." Ron cut in taking his place by Harry. "What if you run into Snape or Malfoy?"

"Yes, because I'm sure a full on duel is going to ensue if we do." Ginny rolled her eyes. "Either way, it will be fine."

Ginny helped Hermione from the floor. "Let's get some sleep." Hermione hiccuped letting Ginny lead her upstairs.

* * *

The next day was a blur. Hermione was so caught up in what would happen that night, that she couldn't concentrate. Draco had almost gotten her alone twice. Thankfully Harry kept a close watch on her. Harry didn't particularly agree with Hermione keeping her pregnancy from the father, but understood the fear now that Draco was a Death Eater. He felt it was his job, as one of her best friends, to keep her and the baby safe.

Ginny had talked to Madam Pomfrey after lunch about a private appointment for a friend that evening. The older witch instantly knew what it was about. She had been in the healer business long enough to tell what was going on. Although, she wasn't prepared to see that Hermione was the patient. There had been rumors flying around for weeks, but the seasoned medi-witch figured it was just students stirring up trouble. The moment she really took a look at the young student it was glaringly obvious.

Madam Pomfrey set Hermione up on a cot farthest away from the door, locking it shut. "Have you seen anyone yet, dear?" She asked.

"Yes, I went to St Mungo's over winter holiday."

Madam Pomfrey lifted the head of the cot helping Hermione to get comfortable. Ginny pulled up a seat holding onto her hand.

"How far along are you?"

"Twenty weeks the day after tomorrow." Hermione whispered looking down at her swollen belly. Madam Pomfrey lifted her shirt, placing the tip of her wand just below her navel. She whispered an incantation, and a strong, quick cadence of a tiny heartbeat followed. Tears dripped down Hermione's cheeks onto her shirt. Ginny squeezed her hand, tears pricking at the corner of her eyes.

"Nice strong heartbeat." Madam Pomfrey smiled. "It's been a very long time since I've done a full on visual scan so I'll have to brush up on it before we can see if you'll be celebrating with blue or pink."

"Blue." Hermione breathed.

"Congratulations, dear." She replied rubbing her tummy before moving her wand about Hermione's body checking her vitals. "Your blood pressure is slightly elevated, but that could be nothing but nerves."

Hermione pulled her shirt down and sat up to wipe the tears from her face. "I apologize in advance if I am being too forward, but does your wizard know about the bundle of joy on the way?" Madam Pomfrey whispered taking a seat at the foot of her cot.

"No. It was a gentleman I met in town for a blind date." Hermione lied looking down at her hands wringing nervously in her lap.

The older witch softened her voice reaching to touch her arm. "You know I don't believe that." She moved her hand to tilt Hermione's head up. "That is not like you at all, sweetheart. The young lad has a right to know, whoever he is."

"I really don't want to talk about this right now." She hiccuped standing to leave.

Madam Pomfrey gave her a tight hug stroking her hair. "We don't have to talk anymore. See me in four weeks for your next check-up and we'll go from their. You do not have to do this on your own. You have a wonderful best friend." She nodded to Ginny. "And I will be by your side no matter what, dear." She brushed the hair from Hermione's brow and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you so much." Hermione smiled through the tears. Madam Pomfrey was right. Draco had a right to know that he would be a father in the near future, but the fear still lingered from the shock of seeing the dark mark marring his forearm. The look on his face as she left him alone up in the astronomy tower came to the surface. He looked defeated and lost, his eyes begging her to stay. In her heart she knew that he didn't choose to be a Death Eater, but to see the mark of pure blood supremacy and the impending genocide of muggleborns like herself on a man that she loved with all she had, the father of her unborn son, was hard to forget.

Ginny took her hand and lead her out of the infirmary. "It'll be okay." She whispered.

* * *

"Did you hear that little mudblood is up the duff?" Pansy asked Blaise as she stretched out on a couch in the Slytherin common room with a laugh.

"I thought she was just getting fat." Blaise replied with a shrug. "I wonder who the father is."

"I'd be willing to bet it's Potter or the Weasel." She sneered.

"I know you're hard up, Pansy, but I'm sure you can figure out a better selection of men to take out for valentines day later this afternoon than that filth." Draco snickered as he approached his two housemates.

"Ew." Pansy said screwing up her face. "We were talking about who could've knocked up that filthy know-it-all mudblood."

Draco froze. He thought Hermione might have just been gaining weight. It never occurred to him that she was with child, his child. Was that what Snape had been up in arms about? How did he know? She wasn't even showing when Snape had approached him. That couldn't be it. She couldn't be pregnant.

"You know that's all a rumor." Draco rolled his eyes trying to keep his composure.

"I overheard a girl in Hufflepuff telling someone she was. Apparently the mudblood snagged her shirt on something in Herbology and everyone got a nice peek of her... Condition." Pansy said sitting up. "No one in Hufflepuff would have the bullocks to start a rumor like that."

"Fuck." Draco breathed.

"I know right?! Not that it matters." She smirked. "Her and that little bastard child won't have a chance once the dark lord gets ahold of them."

"Shut your fucking mouth." Draco bellowed putting his wand to her throat. Pansy squeaked throwing her hands up. Blaise jumped up and put a gentle hand on Draco's shoulder. "Relax, man. What's wrong with you?" He asked with concern.

Draco jerked his shoulder away from him, bringing his wand down towards the coffee table at his feet. A loud crash echoed off the ceiling as the table flew across the room and splintered against the back wall. Draco spun on his heel and stormed out of the portrait hole into the dungeon corridor. He wanted to get as far from Pansy as possible before he seriously injured her. "Calling my kid a fucking bastard, she's lucky I didn't fucking kill her on the spot." He mumbled under his breath.

"I would keep your voice down if I were you, Mr Malfoy." Snape drawled from behind him. Draco turned towards the professor seething.

"Is it true?" Draco hissed. "Is she really pregnant?"

"That is something to be discussed with Miss Granger."

"I'm not in the mood for games. How did you know? How long have you known? Why couldn't you just fucking tell me?!"

"You WILL mind your tone tongue, lest you wish for me to forcefully remove it from your mouth with my bare hands." Snape snarled grabbing the front of Draco's robes and pulling him in so they were nose-to-nose. "Do well to remember that." Snape shoved him back releasing his robes.

"They're going to be killed once the Dark Lord finds out, aren't they?" Draco whispered failing to keep his voice from cracking.

"The child will be fine. The Dark Lord is not going to kill it off when it possesses such an ancient and respected bloodline."

"What about Hermione?"

"She's safe, until the Malfoy heir is born. However, both of them are in danger until this is brought to light."

Draco leaned against the wall, running a hand through his hair. "Are you sure?" Snape nodded. "How am I supposed to get past her little 'body guards'?"

"You're not a complete idiot, Draco. Figure it out." Snape spun around stalking away from him without another word.

It suddenly hit Draco. "An heir... It's a boy?" He mumbled. Halfway down the hall Snape turned around and gave a curt nod before continuing on. "I'm going to have a son..."

* * *

"Are you sure you're going to be okay, Mione?" Harry asked for the sixth time as they stood in front of Madam Puddifoots.

"Go have fun." Hermione smiled. "I'm going to grab a bite to eat at the Three Broomsticks. I'm starving."

"But what if he sees you?"

"The place is packed, and I have a wand. I highly doubt he would start trouble, even if he did find me, there'd be too many witnesses. Now hurry up and go before Cho hexes my eyes out of their sockets."

Harry looked over at Cho, her arms were crossed as she tapped her foot impatiently. "Please be careful." He whispered before Cho yanked him by his arm into the tea shop. Hermione shook her head with a smile.

She made her way through the crowded street and ducked into the Three Broomsticks. A pair of steel gray eyes followed her the whole way. Draco pulled his hood over his head to hide his signature platinum hair. If she caught sight of him before she was settled inside he would lose his chance to confront her.

Hermione found a table in the far back corner of the shop, since all the other tables were full to bursting. She glanced around the room, satisfied when she saw that the only Slytherins were sat at the opposite side of the shop. "What can I get you, dear?" Madam Rosmerta asked with a smile.

"A water, macaroni cheese, and a bottle of tabasco." Hermione said watching the bar maid raise her eyebrows in confusion. "Anything else I can get you?"

"That's it, thank you."

Draco had made it just a few tables away feeling his palms grow cold and clammy the closer her got. Within a few moments Madam Rosmerta brought Hermione her order and left with a small smile. Hermione uncapped the Tabasco, shaking it over her dish with fervor. Her eyebrows knit together as she used her wand to take the small plastic piece off of the bottle and dumped its contents onto her macaroni cheese. She looked pleased, stirring her dish until it resembled more of a soup than anything else. Draco felt a grin spread across his lips as her hand rubbed the small swell of her stomach just barely visible under her baggy shirt.

He slid into the chair next to her. "So, when are we due?"


	17. Chapter 17

Hermione froze, dropping her spoon into her food causing hot sauce to spatter on the table. A piece of platinum blond hair fell into Draco's face from under his hood as he reached across Hermione to grab a pile of napkins. He set to work cleaning up the mess, waiting for her to say something, anything.

She peered down at him at a loss for words. He glanced up looking into her eyes. It surprised her that she wasn't scared of him, instead she was flooded with the urge to kiss him, then slap him, maybe kick him, and then kiss him again. The hormonal mood shifts were driving her mad.

"What do you want?" She snapped looking back down at her meal.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was under the impression that a man had a right to know if he was going to be a father. My mistake." He snarked folding his arms across his chest.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She lied taking a bite of her hot sauce soup.

He boldly put his hand on her belly under the table. She stiffened under his touch but made no move to pull away. A distinct ripple from her stomach pushed against his hand followed by another more prominent jab. His eyes widened, his breath caught. "You are a terrible liar." He whispered, softly rubbing his hand across her bump in awe.

Hermione instinctually placed her hand on top of his, tears spilling onto her cheeks. "June 13th." She breathed. Draco looked up at her arching an eyebrow. "He's due June 13th." She continued squeezing his hand. "I'm so sorry I didn't say anything sooner. It's just... When I saw that on your arm..."

Draco put a finger to her lips. "It's okay. I know I fucked up, and I know I'm not even remotely close to a knight in shining armor, but I do love you." He glanced down at her belly before looking back up at her with complete adoration. "Both of you."

He brought a shaky hand up to the side of her face, rubbing his thumb along her cheek bone. The pub began to fade away from the background, all the chatter muted. In that moment it was just the two of them. "You both are my life now. Nothing else matters." He whispered leaning forward. Hermione closed her eyes, parting her lips. His body leaned against hers, as their lips barely brushed together.

"Hermione!" Harry hissed pulling her out of her chair. Draco stood up glaring at Harry. "What are you doing, Malfoy?" He bit out in a whisper as he saw a glimmer of white blonde hair from under the black hood. Eyes were starting to migrate over to their table, desperately trying to decipher the situation as the two boys faced off.

"Back off, Potter. This doesn't concern you. This is my family, my business, my responsibility." Draco said in a hushed growl.

Harry took a step forward, only leaving a foot between them. "Who do you think has been shouldering the responsibility the past couple of months? I've been the one protecting Hermione and YOUR son. At least pretend to be grateful." Harry seethed.

"You are getting dangerously close to earning yourself another scar, Potter." Draco balled his hands into fists at his sides, his face turning a violent shade of red.

Hermione shoved the boys apart glaring up at them. "Shut it, both of you! You're causing a scene and I'm not going to stand by while you two carry on like idiots." She snapped, turning on her heel and storming through the pub. Students and non-students alike fell silent, staring at the small witch making her way out the door, then turning to look at the black hooded figure and Harry as they bustled after her.

"Hermione! Please wait up!" Harry called out to her when they reached the street. She stopped with her arms crossed as the boys approached her. When they were within arms reach she grabbed them both by the front of their robes and shoved them into a nondescript alcove away from prying eyes.

"Let's get a few things straight right now." She began with a hand on her hip. "Firstly, the next time you two talk over my head as if I'm not standing right there you WILL end up in the infirmary with the nastiest hex I can muster." They both nodded with wide eyes as the small witch chastised them.

"Secondly," She looked over at Harry. "You didn't HAVE to shoulder anything, and rubbing it in Draco's face is the same as rubbing it in mine. You're lucky I didn't slap you for that comment." Harry swallowed hard.

Draco stifled a laugh. "And you." She said stabbing Draco in the chest with her finger. "You SHOULD be thanking Harry for giving me all the support I've needed when you couldn't." Draco grumbled under his breath.

"Excuse me?" She asked angrily.

"The only reason I 'couldn't' be there is because Potter and Weasley wanted to play body guard. It wasn't any of his fucking business." He glared over at Harry.

"Yea, when one of my best friends curls up on my lap crying over her deadbeat Death Eater boyfriend, it becomes my business." Harry shot back.

"Oh and I'm sure you were so upset." Draco began sarcastically. "You've always been jealous of me. The fact that I was with Hermione and you couldn't be was eating you up inside, wasn't it?" He sneered.

Harry laughed. "You are really making me wish I would have taken the rebound to rub in your face." It only took a second for Draco to fully understand what Harry was insinuating.

"What the fuck is he talking about?!" Draco bellowed staring at Hermione. His hands had begun to shake with the dire need to punch Harry in the face. Harry's face went white. He didn't mean to say or allude to the heavy snogging session Hermione and he had shared, especially not to Draco.

Hermione whipped out her wand silencing them both. "Do not talk over me!" She commanded cutting her eyes at them. "I refuse to discuss this right now, especially in public."

Draco raised his eyebrows at her. She pinched her nose and sighed. "We will talk about this later." She turned away from them. "The spell should lift within the hour. I'm going to go find Ginny." She shot over her shoulder hurrying away from them.

* * *

"What?!" Ginny choked, spraying her sip of butterbeer all over the table.

The Hogs Head was a bit dodgy, but was much more secluded than the other pubs in Hogsmeade. Hermione wanted as much privacy as possible. She could have waited until they were back in their dorm, but she was nervous that her silencing charm wouldn't last the full hour. If Draco caught up with her he would demand answers and she wasn't sure exactly how to go about it. He was right, she was a terrible liar. Lying wasn't an option.

"So, let me get this straight." Ginny began rubbing her forehead. "Malfoy cornered you in the Three Broomsticks, you told him the truth about the pregnancy, and you made up for the most part?" Hermione nodded. "Harry got pissed, they got into a spat, and Harry alluded to you guys having 'relations'?" Ginny finished looking sideways at Hermione.

"To be fair, Harry and I didn't go that far."

"Wait, so it could have happened? Do I really want to know what you two did?" Ginny cringed.

"We had a snog, things started to escalate, and we stopped. That's it, but the way Harry made it sound was like we were doing way more than snogging." Hermione explained quickly.

Ginny took a sip of her butterbeer and thought for a moment. "You know Malfoy's going to kick his ass right? I've seen the way he looks at you, and given the fact that he and Harry are constantly in competition with each other, what you say to him isn't going to matter."

Hermione sighed. "I swear I'm punching Harry in the face the moment we are back in Gryffindor tower."

"Do you really think Malfoy wouldn't find out? He's a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them." Ginny said arching an eyebrow.

"I know, but there were already much bigger problems without Harry's big fucking mouth." Ginny nodded in agreement.

"I just hope Ron found them before the spell.." Ginny trailed off as the door to the pub swung open violently. Harry stormed through, his lip bloodied with Draco walking smugly behind him. Ginny ran to Harry checking his injuries as Hermione dashed over to Draco.

"You need to go before someone sees you!" Hermione said quickly trying to pull the hood back over Draco's head. He grabbed her wrists bringing them down in front of her.

"People are going to have to know, Hermione." He said softly. "The only way I can keep you and the baby safe is by making it common knowledge that you are carrying my son." He bent down and kissed her forehead.

The bar keep was already whispering to a battered old witch at the bar, who then tore through the pub and out into the streets. It wouldn't be long before the news reached the Malfoy's. "Of course, we could have found a more tactful way of breaking the news if Potter hadn't picked a fight in the middle of the god damn street." He hissed over his shoulder at Harry.

"So, sucker punching me for saying something you didn't want to hear is picking a fight? If you hadn't fucking attacked me your ugly ferret face would have stayed under your fucking hood where it belongs!"

"Wait, what did you say?" Ginny asked Harry stepping back.

"I... Uh..."

"I believe his exact words were 'You and your bastard son ruined Hermione's life'." Draco snarled.

Hermione looked at Harry and Draco with disgust. Tears stung the corners of her eyes as she grabbed her bag and darted out of the pub.

"You both should be ashamed of yourselves!" Ginny barked. "If you cared about her you would suck it up and leave well enough alone! I don't give a fuck what your hang ups are with each other, but you need to pull your shit together." She took a step towards Draco her eyes burning into his. "Harry could have taken advantage of Hermione. She was so upset with your new... status, that she approached Harry. Instead of having it off with her HE stopped it. You should be fucking grateful it was Harry and not some other guy who doesn't give two shits about her well-being!"

She turned quickly shoving Harry into the wall. "I'm not going to ask Draco to apologize because you deserved to be punched in the fucking mouth. How fucking dare you say shit like that about an innocent baby." She took a large step back glaring at them. "You both fucking disgust me." She growled before running out to find Hermione.

"You stopped it?" Draco whispered incredulously.

"Yea. I tried to tell you that earlier." Harry muttered. "Look I'm sorry for what I said about the baby."

"I'm sorry I didn't hit you harder." Draco smirked.

"I'm sorry that you're still a pompous jack ass." Harry laughed.

Draco shook his head chuckling. "Did we really get told off twice by two witches half our size?"

"Yea, and they weren't even as pissed as they could have been."

"Should I be scared?" Draco asked moving to Harry's side.

"Very."

They began to walk through the pub together before Draco turned to face Harry. "Just because we're being friendly doesn't mean I don't still think you're a glittery tosser."

Harry smirked. "Fine by me ferret-boy."

* * *

The castle halls were dark and foreboding as Snape and Draco skulked through them with haste. It was far past curfew and they had just gotten news of Umbridge settling in for the night from Dobby the house elf. Draco's heart was beating out of his chest, hoping that everything would go smoothly.

"You don't have to do this, Draco. " Snape began. "Do you not comprehend the danger you are putting yourself in if something goes wrong farther down the line?"

"It's the only way I can protect them."

"Your bloodline is more than enough protection."

"Only until the baby is born. You know the Dark Lord is going to have someone off Hermione the moment she's done giving birth. I would gladly give my life for theirs."

"You're a fool." Snape hissed.

"I might be, or I could just be a man who is willing to protect his family at all costs."

Snape grumbled under his breath as they approached the gargoyles at the entrance of Dumbledore's office. "Once you walk through those doors you can never go back, Draco." Snape whispered nodding his head towards the office doors.

Draco nodded curtly. "Lemon drops." He said with purpose. The gargoyles moved aside allowing both wizards to enter. Dumbledore met them right as the crossed the threshold. He shook Draco's hand and smiled.

"Are you sure about this, my dear boy?"

"Absolutely." Draco replied. Dumbledore put a hand on his shoulder, guiding him into the antechamber where Harry, Lupin, and Tonks stood in shock and awe.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer:**  
**I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I make a profit from writing this story. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Author's Note:**  
**Yay! I finally have this story up to date on here! This chapter is really short, but I'm hoping really sets the stage for the next scene at the Manor. The Manor scene will be very dark, and I strongly deter anyone not of age to overt your eyes. Chapter 19 is not going to be pleasant in the slightest. I should have that up next Friday!**

**I also want to say 'Hi' to the lovely ThatShotgunGirl who helped give me a reason to quickly get this story up to speed on here =)**

* * *

Tonks lunged forward, pulling her cousin into a tight hug. "Is it true? Am I expecting another little cousin?"

Her hair turned neon blue as she pulled away to survey Draco. His stance was rigid as he stared back at his disowned cousin. His father and mother never mentioned Tonks' mother, Andromeda. Although, Narcissa still had a picture of herself, Bellatrix, and Andromeda back in their Hogwarts days hidden away in her vanity drawer.

"Uh… I guess so." He said stepping back to put more space between them.

Lupin crossed his arms staring daggers at the young blond wizard. "So, am I to believe that Hermione's condition wasn't planned? Because, to be frank, this whole situation seems like the perfect ploy to get into the Order's good graces, and attempt to take us all out."

"Excuse me?" Draco growled taking a large step towards Lupin. Snape put a firm hand on Draco's shoulder pulling him back.

"Mr. Malfoy wouldn't be here if it weren't for his love and dedication to Miss Granger." Dumbledore cut in. "The baby is safe, but Miss Granger will be killed after she gives birth. Draco has proved himself to have the best of intentions."

Harry moved to Lupin's side and tugged him back by the cuff of his arm. "It's true Remus." Harry said looking from Draco back to Lupin. "I wouldn't have agreed to this if I had any doubts."

Lupin scoffed. "This is a bad idea."

Tonks elbowed Lupin hard in the stomach. "If Harry and Dumbledore trust him, then so do I." She said confidently smiling at Draco.

"Are you all quite done?" Snape growled sweeping to the front of the room. "We have bigger problems to attend to." He glared at Lupin. "I've already received an owl from a most distraught Narcissa. News has already passed through the grapevine of Miss Granger and Draco's situation. Lucius is furious and is demanding a paternity check."

"Does Voldemort know?" Harry asked nervously.

"Yes. He has taken up post at Malfoy Manor." Snape drawled. "The Dark Lord is commanding to be present for Miss Granger's visit and exam to make sure no mistakes are made."

"Absolutely not!" Draco barked glaring at his god father. "Just because she's pregnant with the Malfoy heir doesn't mean he won't torture her in the mean time."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I completely agree with Malfoy." Harry interjected.

"It cannot be avoided." Dumbledore spoke softly. "If we don't comply, he will send someone after her. There is no need to put the entire school in danger."

Draco growled with his hands balled into fists at his side. "What about Hermione's safety?! I don't see anyone giving a fuck about that!"

Snape smacked him swiftly across the back of his head. "There is no need for such vulgar language." He hissed. "I will accompany Draco and Miss Granger to Malfoy Manor."

"When?" Tonks asked.

"Tomorrow evening." Snape replied sullenly. "The longer we wait, the more likely it is for the Dark Lord to lash out."

"There has to be another way." Harry breathed.

"I'm afraid there isn't Mr. Potter." The professor drawled. "I will call upon Miss Granger in the morning, and fill her in."

Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "Thank you Severus."

Tonks threw her arms around her cousin squeezing him tightly. "It will be okay." She whispered.

"Thank you." Draco breathed returning her hug. He stepped back from their embrace and made his rounds shaking Harry and Dumbledore's hands.

Remus wrinkled his nose and grudgingly took the blond wizard's hand. "If anything happens to, Hermione…" The older wizard started.

"You can do whatever you please with me." Draco replied calmly.

Snape took Draco by the cuff of his arm and led him out into the hall. "The Dark Lord is most indignant, Draco. Get some rest; you will most assuredly need it." The dark professor said flatly before turning on his heel and stalking down the hall.

* * *

Hermione grumbled trying to situate her robes to cover most of her bump. "You know that doesn't help right? By now the whole school knows." Ginny said pointedly sitting on Hermione's bed.

"You're right." The curly haired witch sighed.

"Mione!" Harry called from down in the common room.

"Coming!" She shouted back. She took one last look in the mirror and groaned. At 24 weeks pregnant it was glaringly obvious that she was with child. The only good she found in it was that her morning/day/night/all the time sickness was gone, and she felt fairly normal.

Harry ushered the two girls over to an empty corner of the common room with worry etched across his face. "Snape needs you down in his office." He whispered handing her a slip of parchment. "Draco is waiting for you outside."

Hermione swallowed hard. "What is going on Harry?" She choked out. Something wasn't right. He pulled her into a tight hug.

"It will all be okay." He said softly. "I'll walk you out."

As promised, Draco stood outside the portrait hole his eyes darting around the hall. "Thanks." He grumbled taking Hermione's hand. Harry gave Hermione a weak smile and turned away to go back inside.

Draco tucked Hermione's hand into his arm and kissed her forehead, all his normal cockiness gone without a trace. "Draco, what is going on?"

"Potter didn't say anything?" He asked genuinely shocked. "Just know that everything will be okay." The handsome blond wizard turned to give her a small smile.

* * *

Hermione curled up as much as she could in the armchair across from the surly professor sobbing. The moment she saw Harry's face that morning she knew something terrible was amiss, but she never would have guessed just how terrifying things were about to get.

"Stop your blubbering." Snape hissed furiously scribbling on a piece of parchment. "Count yourself lucky that you carry an heir. Had a girl been conceived you would have been killed on the spot."

Hermione cringed. Draco threw his arms around her trembling form staring the potions master down. "Could you at least try not to make someone cry for 5 minutes?"

Snape leered at the two and stomped past them to his office door. "Meet me at the gates at 7 this evening." He opened the door and practically kicked them out into the hall.

* * *

The full moon cast an eerie glow over the forbidden forest as Snape, Draco, and Hermione slipped through the gates of Hogwarts towards the portkey. Draco kept an arm around the shaking witch and tucked her into his side as the rusty old tea kettle that would send them to Malfoy Manor came into sight. Snape forcefully grabbed Draco by the cuff of his arm and pulled him away from Hermione.

"From this point on there will be no touching, looking, or speaking." He hissed to the young wizard. He rounded on Hermione next. "Do not make eye contact with ANYONE unless specifically asked, that applies to moving, speaking, and anything else short of breathing. To them you are nothing, no one, not even fit to walk on the same ground. Draco is not your significant other. You were nothing but a mistake, and should be thankful to be hosting an heir."

She jumped back with angry tears stinging her eyes. The surly professor sighed and softened his tone. "You know none of that is true. But the only way I can be sure that you will make it out alive is to really drive home what you are to them. Act the part and you should make it out okay."

"He's going to hurt me, isn't he?" She whispered looking down at her feet.

"Possibly." Snape said gently. He nodded to Draco and turned his back.

Draco pulled the sobbing witch into his arms tightly, his heart racing. It was more than likely that the Dark Lord was going to lash out at her. He pulled her back and stared into her wide brown eyes before pressing a gentle lingering kiss to her lips. "I love you. Please remember that. I don't know what's going to be asked of me. Just please know that I love you both more than anything in this world."

"I love you too." She choked out.

Draco cleared his throat and the professor turned back around. Hermione wedged herself between the two men trying to gather her wits about her when the cold hand of Professor Snape squeezed hers gently. That sentiment alone helped her take that last deep cleansing breath before she reached out to touch the kettle and felt the pull from behind her navel draw her away.


End file.
